Dictionary › L › lay off

lay off

2 syllables

Quick answer

As a verb, lay off means put an end to a state or an activity.

Meanings of lay off

2 meanings

verb

Put an end to a state or an activity
“Quit teasing your little brother”
Similar: discontinue, stop, cease, give up, quit, break
Dismiss, usually for economic reasons
“She was laid off together with hundreds of other workers when the company downsized”
Similar: furlough

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).

Synonyms by meaning

All synonyms for lay off →

verb: put an end to a state or an activity

discontinue stop cease give up quit break break off

verb: dismiss, usually for economic reasons

Nearby words

laxation laxative laxity laxly laxness lay lay out lay over lay up layabout layaway layer