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

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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]

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Example Sentences

Several hundred people rallied outside The Washington Post headquarters Thursday to protest its decision to lay off hundreds of journalists, including most of its overseas staff.

From Barron's

The cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss said Thursday that it would lay off up to 200 employees, including workers in Europe, Singapore, and the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

The BBC understands local business advisors have been laid off, and those left have been instructed not take on any new "clients" – science and tech businesses seeking funding and guidance.

From BBC

The paper's former Cairo bureau chief said she was laid off alongside the "entire roster" of Middle East correspondents and editors.

From BBC

In the same week that Pinterest announced it was laying off workers, Amazon cut 16,000 roles in its second round of redundancies in three months.

From BBC