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• Jeff
  Jeff

  noun

  a male given name, form of Jeffrey.
• jeff
  jeff

  verb

  to downsize or close down (an organization)

Jeff

American  

[jef] / dʒɛf /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Jeffrey.

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jeff British  

/ dʒɛf /

verb

1. to downsize or close down (an organization)

2. to reduce (staff numbers) or dismiss (an employee)

3. to spoil or destroy ruthlessly

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Etymology

Origin of jeff

C20: named after Jeff Kennett, former premier of the state of Victoria, Australia

Example Sentences

Jeff Bezos, who retired as CEO of Amazon in 2021 but remains executive chairman, has developed closer ties with Trump in his second administration.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and others have discussed putting the computing facilities themselves in orbit.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

“There’s still not a layoff problem in the U.S. economy,” Jeff Korzenik, Fifth Third’s chief economist, tells Barron’s.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

The energy landscape changed meaningfully in just 60 days and now companies are racing to invest from Norway and Nigeria to Argentina and Brazil, CEO Jeff Miller told investors and analysts last week.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

And Jeff, who stayed where he was in row two but moved his seat only another few inches back, didn’t seem worried about getting punished, either, as Joeyhad warned he might.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott