deponer

To depose or remove from a position of power (deponer a un presidente), to lay down (deponer las armas, "lay down arms"), and in legal contexts, to testify or give a deposition (deponer ante el juez). The common thread across all three senses is formally setting something down or aside.

• El ejército depuso al dictador. — The army deposed the dictator.
• Los rebeldes accedieron a deponer las armas. — The rebels agreed to lay down their arms.
• El testigo depuso ante el tribunal. — The witness testified before the court.

Confusing deponer with disponer ("to arrange, have available") — they look alike but mean very different things; deponer is about removing or laying down, disponer is about arranging or having at one's disposal.

Often confused with disponer.

• expression "Deponer las armas" — A standard fixed expression, including in international-law and war-crimes contexts, meaning to surrender or cease armed hostilities — used of soldiers, armies, or combatants who stop fighting and hand over their weapons.