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

Some of the top companies in tech that already had announced big plans to lay off thousands have revealed more details about where they are cutting in recent government filings.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Wunderbar in Glasgow told BBC Scotland News it would have to lay off staff to offset a more than £500,000 rise in the tax.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Activist investor Irenic Capital Management built a 2.5% stake in Snapchat and urged the company to lay off employees and divest its Specs business.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

This announcement comes after Reuters reported that Meta could lay off around 20% of its workforce to offset rising artificial intelligence costs.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

They had been forced to lay off drivers and shut down several bus routes just to stay in business.

From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose