lay off
verb
Simple meaning
To dismiss from employment, e.g.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
layawfSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈleɪˈɔf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitivechiefly usidiomaticof an employer
To dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume or through no fault of the worker, often with a severance package.
transitiveidiomatic
To cease, quit, stop (doing something).
transitive and intransitiveidiomatic
To stop bothering, teasing, or pestering someone; to leave (someone) alone.
transitiveof a bookmaker
To place all or part of a bet with another bookmaker in order to reduce risk.
transitive
To plan out (a navigational course) using a chart.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of an employer) To dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume or through no fault of the worker, often with a severance package.
Used this way, lay off is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in business or professional contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Business/professional
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.