1
: a period of inactivity or idleness
2
: the act of laying off an employee or a workforce
also
: shutdown
laid off; laying off; lays off
1
: to mark or measure off
2
: to cease to employ (a worker) often temporarily
3
of a bookie
: to place all or part of (an accepted bet) with another bookie to reduce the risk
1
: to stop doing or taking something
2
: to leave one alone
wish you'd just lay off
Synonyms
Examples of layoff in a Sentence
Noun
The company announced the layoff of several hundred employees.
More layoffs are expected at the factory later this year.
The band finally has a new album after a three year layoff.
a layoff of three years
Verb
you need to lay off eating those jelly doughnuts, or you'll end up looking like one
Recent Examples on the Web
George Avalos, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
Yet the sharply higher borrowing costs for individuals and companies that resulted from the Fed’s rate hikes were widely expected to trigger a recession, with waves of layoffs and a painful rise in unemployment.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
There are announcements of across-the-board layoffs at the Beeb, arguments about what does and does not constitute a proper lead story, and enough editorial handwringing to require skin grafts on numerous palms.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
The number of March layoffs may seem baffling given that, by most traditional economic measures, the U.S. job market is strong.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
The layoffs become effective in 90 days or more, people familiar with the terminations told the Statesman.
—Lily Kepner, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
The layoffs are expected to take place on June 29, the filings show.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
Unimaginative or stressed leaders may decide to use these new tools for surveillance and for layoffs.
—Ethan Mollick, TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
That optimism seems to be the consensus among analysts, including Goldman Sachs’ chief economist: The ruthless economic pains of a recession, such as mass layoffs and tepid consumer spending, probably won’t happen anytime soon.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024
Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
The University of Texas has not confirmed to the Statesman the number of staff positions that have been eliminated or how many employees will be laid off.
—Lily Kepner, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
More recently, however, companies have backtracked on those commitments, laying off their DEI officers and cutting back on related training.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
Like other entertainment companies, Endeavor was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and laid off hundreds of staff members as many live events and Hollywood productions were shut down or suspended.
—Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
In December, Pizza Hut franchisees laid off hundreds of delivery drivers ahead of the wage hike and switched to apps like Uber Eats and Door Dash, which pushes more delivery fees onto customers.
—Vanessa Romo, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
Two years later, Mercedes divested their interest in MV and the company went into bankruptcy protection, scaling back production and laying off employees.
—William Roberson, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Since then, Cruise has laid off a quarter of its workforce and dismissed several executives.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
More recently, Embracer laid off 97 people at Eidos in Janaury and cancelled a Deus Ex game.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
An estimated 371 of the 614 Apple layoffs in Santa Clara were slated to occur at a company office building at 3689 Kifer Road in Santa Clara.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
Yet the sharply higher borrowing costs for individuals and companies that resulted from the Fed’s rate hikes were widely expected to trigger a recession, with waves of layoffs and a painful rise in unemployment.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
There are announcements of across-the-board layoffs at the Beeb, arguments about what does and does not constitute a proper lead story, and enough editorial handwringing to require skin grafts on numerous palms.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
The number of March layoffs may seem baffling given that, by most traditional economic measures, the U.S. job market is strong.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
The layoffs become effective in 90 days or more, people familiar with the terminations told the Statesman.
—Lily Kepner, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
The layoffs are expected to take place on June 29, the filings show.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
Unimaginative or stressed leaders may decide to use these new tools for surveillance and for layoffs.
—Ethan Mollick, TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
That optimism seems to be the consensus among analysts, including Goldman Sachs’ chief economist: The ruthless economic pains of a recession, such as mass layoffs and tepid consumer spending, probably won’t happen anytime soon.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024
Verb
Some associate or assistant deans previously focused on DEI, Hartzell said, will return to full-time faculty positions, and those that were laid off can apply to existing openings.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
The University of Texas has not confirmed to the Statesman the number of staff positions that have been eliminated or how many employees will be laid off.
—Lily Kepner, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
More recently, however, companies have backtracked on those commitments, laying off their DEI officers and cutting back on related training.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2024
Like other entertainment companies, Endeavor was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and laid off hundreds of staff members as many live events and Hollywood productions were shut down or suspended.
—Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
In December, Pizza Hut franchisees laid off hundreds of delivery drivers ahead of the wage hike and switched to apps like Uber Eats and Door Dash, which pushes more delivery fees onto customers.
—Vanessa Romo, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
Two years later, Mercedes divested their interest in MV and the company went into bankruptcy protection, scaling back production and laying off employees.
—William Roberson, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Since then, Cruise has laid off a quarter of its workforce and dismissed several executives.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
More recently, Embracer laid off 97 people at Eidos in Janaury and cancelled a Deus Ex game.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to layoff
Dictionary Entries Near layoff
Cite this Entry
“Layoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layoff. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
layoff
1 of 2 noun
lay·off
ˈlā-ˌȯf 
1
: the act of laying off an employee or a work force
2
: a period during which there is no activity
lay off
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)lā-ˈȯf
1
: to mark or measure off
2
: to stop employing (a person) often temporarily
lay off workers
3
: to stop doing or taking something
lay off of that stuff
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share