Meaning & use
layoff
The dismissal of employees from their jobs, usually because of a lack of work or funding.
See it in a sentence
The factory announced a major layoff after losing its biggest contract.
She was still job hunting six months after the layoff began.
A note on using this word
As one word, layoff is the noun; the two-word phrasal verb 'lay off' means either to dismiss workers or, informally, to stop doing or bothering with something.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
hiring
Another way to use it
2. phrase
To stop doing, using, or bothering with something or someone.
His doctor told him to lay off fried food for a while.
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