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lay off meaning and examples

2025-09-20

Meaning

  • Lay off has several meanings depending on context:

    1. To dismiss someone from a job, usually because of lack of work or cost-cutting.
    2. To stop doing something (informal usage, e.g., "Lay off the snacks").
    3. To stop bothering or criticizing someone (informal).
    4. In sports, to pass the ball quickly to another player.

Grammar and Usage

  • Verb type: Phrasal verb (transitive or intransitive depending on meaning).

  • Common structures:

    • lay sb off → to dismiss someone from employment.
    • lay off (sth) → to stop consuming/doing something.
    • lay off sb → to stop criticizing or bothering someone.

  • Often used in the passive voice when referring to job loss (e.g., "He was laid off last year").

Common Phrases

  • Mass layoffs – large-scale dismissal of employees.
  • Be laid off – to lose a job due to downsizing.
  • Lay off the alcohol/sugar – to stop or reduce intake.
  • Lay off someone’s back – to stop criticizing.

Collocations

  • mass layoffs
  • temporary layoffs
  • be/get laid off
  • lay off workers/staff/employees
  • lay off junk food/alcohol

Examples

  1. The company had to lay off 200 workers due to the recession.
  2. He was laid off last year and is still looking for a job.
  3. You should lay off the sweets if you want to lose weight.
  4. Lay off, will you? You’re always criticizing me.
  5. The coach told him to lay off the training for a few days to recover.
  6. Due to automation, thousands of employees were laid off.
  7. If you want to stay healthy, you’d better lay off smoking.
  8. The manager asked the reporters to lay off and respect his privacy.
  • dismiss
  • fire (informal, but different nuance)
  • make redundant (UK)
  • let go
  • stop
  • quit

Antonym

  • hire
  • employ
  • take on
  • keep on (retain in a job)