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

Amazon said in January that it would lay off 16,000 corporate employees.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

In February, EBay announced it would lay off 6% of its workforce, roughly 800 jobs.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Cash App owner Block said in February that it would lay off 4,000 workers, or 40% of its workforce, citing changes in its industry driven by artificial intelligence.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

Snap said last month it would lay off around 16% of its global full-time employees.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

Josh, we're going to try to lay off the fried foods and Golden Dragon.

From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander