1.
If you lay out a group of things, you spread them out and arrange them neatly, for example so that they can all be seen clearly.
Grace laid out the knives and forks at the lunch-table...
She took a deck of cards and began to lay them out.
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron) , V n P
2.
To lay out ideas, principles, or plans means to explain or present them clearly, for example in a document or a meeting.
Maxwell listened closely as Johnson laid out his plan...
Cuomo laid it out in simple language.
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron) , V n P
3.
To lay out an area of land or a building means to plan and design how its different parts should be arranged.
When we laid out the car parks, we reckoned on one car per four families...
Only people that use a kitchen all the time understand the best way to lay it out.
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron) , V n P
4.
If you lay out money on something, you spend a large amount of money on it. ( INFORMAL )
You won’t have to lay out a fortune for this dining table.
= fork out, shell out
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron)
5.
see also layout