lay off
Third Person
lays off
Present Participle
laying off
Past Tense
laid off
Past Participle
laid off
1
to dismiss employees due to financial difficulties or reduced workload
transitive
- The company laid off 10% of its workforce due to financial losses.
- The factory laid off 50 workers after installing new automated machinery.
- The government laid thousands of workers off due to budget cuts.
- The airline laid pilots off due to a decrease in travel demand.
- The restaurant is laying off 20 waiters and waitresses due to the slow summer season.
Synonyms:
2
to stop doing something
transitive
- She had to lay off her late-night work schedule to improve her sleep.
- After years of smoking, she finally laid off the habit for her health.
- He laid off eating junk food after learning about its effects on his health.
- He decided to lay off playing video games to focus on his studies.
- He promised to lay off teasing his younger brother.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
3
to refrain from bothering or harassing someone
transitive
- The bully laid off the smaller child after he started to cry.
- I'm telling you to lay off me, or I'm going to call the police.
- The teacher told the students to lay off each other and focus on their work.
- The boyfriend told his girlfriend to lay off his ex-girlfriend.