Force
Force verb - To cause (a person) to give in to pressure.
Lay
Lay verb - To establish or apply as a charge or penalty.
Usage example: state officials tried to lay a tax on merchandise sold over the Internet
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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It can lay megatons per second force with pinpoint accuracy at interplanetary range.
Source: Weapon of Mass Destruction -
An episode of Looney Tunes, "Golden Yeggs", had the mobsters Rocky and Mugsy force Daffy Duck to lay golden eggs after hearing about his fame, despite the fact Daffy is obviously a male duck.
Source: Animal Gender-Bender - Sigurd's reckless use of military force to solve all of his problems allows him to be used as an Unwitting Pawn to conquer the continent and lay the groundwork for The Empire.
Cite this Source
Lay and Force. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/force/lay
Force & Lay. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/force/lay>.
Lay or Force. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/force/lay.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "force" and "lay" have occurred on timeline