phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
get the lay of the land
UK/ɡet ðə leɪ ɒv ðə lænd/US/ɡet ðə leɪ əv ðə lænd/get the LAY of the LAND
to learn how a place or situation is organized so you can act appropriately
Examples
“When I arrived in the office, I spent a day asking questions to get the lay of the land.”
“Before launching the product abroad, the team went there to get the lay of the land.”
“It helps to get the lay of the land before you make big decisions.”
Band 8 sentence
“On my first day as project manager I made a point of meeting key staff to get the lay of the land and spot immediate issues.”
Collocations
- get the lay of the land before + V-ing
- get the lay of the land in + place
Word family
Common mistakes
I need to get the land lay of the place.→I need to get the lay of the land.
I will get the lay of the land before start.→I will get the lay of the land before I start.
Say it for a higher band
5find out what's happening→6assess the situation→7+get the lay of the land
Synonyms
assess the situation
Easily confused
assess the situation
“The first step was to assess the situation and identify priorities.”
Related words
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