布下 (bùxià): to set up (a trap, formation, o…

Meanings

1 to set up (a trap, formation, or arrangement)
2 to lay out
3 to deploy

Characters

布

down (result complement)

Examples

敌人在山口布下了重兵。

Dírén zài shānkǒu bù xià le zhòngbīng.

The enemy deployed heavy forces at the mountain pass.

他们布下了一个圈套，等他自投罗网。

Tāmen bù xià le yī gè quāntào, děng tā zì tóu luówǎng.

They set a trap and waited for him to walk right into it.

Tips

grammar

布 + directional 下 = 'lay out / put down'. Common collocations: 布下天罗地网 'set an inescapable net', 布下陷阱 'set a trap', 布下重兵 'station heavy troops', 布下迷魂阵 'set a confounding formation'. The 下 is a result complement, not a separable particle, so the object follows: 布下 + N.