lay off

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

Idioms and Phrases

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]

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

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]

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

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

Amazon announced Tuesday that it was laying off thousands of workers, kick-starting a plan to cut up to 30,000 jobs.

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He just laid off 40 people—and he worries he’ll have to let even more go.

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If the economy were to slow even further, businesses could lay off more workers to offset a decline in sales and profits.

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Earlier this month the company said it would lay off 1,200 employees.

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Then, a month before closing earlier this year, she was laid off from her job in public relations.

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