lay off
Britishverb
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(tr, adverb) to suspend (workers) from employment with the intention of re-employing them at a later date
the firm had to lay off 100 men
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informal (intr) to leave (a person, thing, or activity) alone
lay off me, will you!
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(tr, adverb) to mark off the boundaries of
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(tr, adverb) soccer to pass or deflect (the ball) to a team-mate, esp one in a more advantageous position
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gambling another term for hedge
noun
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the act of suspending employees
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a period of imposed unemployment
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Terminate a person from employment. For example, When they lost the contract, they had to lay off a hundred workers . This expression formerly referred to temporary dismissals, as during a recession, with the idea that workers would be hired back when conditions improved, but with the tendency of businesses to downsize in the 1990s it came to mean “terminate permanently.” [First half of 1800s]
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Mark off the boundaries, as in Let's lay off an area for a flower garden . [Mid-1700s]
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Stop doing something, quit, as in Lay off that noise for a minute, so the baby can get to sleep , or She resolved to lay off smoking . [Early 1900s]
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Stop bothering or annoying someone, as in Lay off or I'll tell the teacher . [ Slang ; c. 1900]
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Place all or part of a bet with another bookmaker so as to reduce the risk. For example, Some bookmakers protect themselves by laying off very large bets with other bookmakers . [Mid-1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Staples will also lay off 109 employees at a fulfillment center in La Mirada on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
For established software companies, charging a client solely based on how many of its employees use the technology is no longer a viable solution, because AI-powered efficiency gains could lead firms to lay off workers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The 10-brand group, which apart from its namesake also includes marques such as Audi and Porsche, is planning to lay off at least 50,000 in Germany by 2030.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The company will lay off 1,600 people this week and 1,600 more during the rest of the fiscal year that began this month, Xbox Chief Executive Asha Sharma said in a memo to staff Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Maybe I want you to lay off her.”
From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
