lay off

British  

verb

1. (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

2. informal (intr) to leave (a person, thing, or activity) alone

   lay off me, will you!

3. (tr, adverb) to mark off the boundaries of

4. (tr, adverb) soccer to pass or deflect (the ball) to a team-mate, esp one in a more advantageous position

5. gambling another term for hedge

---

noun

1. the act of suspending employees

2. a period of imposed unemployment

lay off Idioms  

1. 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]

2. Mark off the boundaries, as in Let's lay off an area for a flower garden . [Mid-1700s]

3. 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]

4. Stop bothering or annoying someone, as in Lay off or I'll tell the teacher . [ Slang ; c. 1900]

5. 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

U.S. employers laid off more than 1.2 million workers in 2025, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a firm that advises companies on staff reductions and helps departing employees find new work.

From The Wall Street Journal

The move comes as Meta also confirmed to Barron’s that it was laying off several hundred workers in its sales, recruiting, and virtual reality divisions Wednesday.

From Barron's

Block in February announced a 40% workforce reduction, laying off more than 4,000 people, citing rapidly improving artificial intelligence models.

From The Wall Street Journal

This year, the State of the Game Industry Report from the Game Developers Conference found that roughly one-third of U.S. video game industry workers were laid off in the last two years.

From Los Angeles Times

Fortnite-maker Epic Games says it is laying off more than 1,000 employees, citing a fall in engagement with its popular online game.

From BBC