laid off

verb

past tense of lay off
as in stopped
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end you need to lay off eating those jelly doughnuts, or you'll end up looking like one

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laid off
  1. stopped
  2. ceased
  3. ended
  4. halted
  5. quit
  6. shut off
  7. broke off
  8. left off
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said Friday afternoon that all four Moscow airports -- Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky -- stopped flights arriving and departing for security reasons.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • If only the Hornets could have stopped the game after one possession apiece.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of stopped
Verb
  • The flagship journal has stopped accepting manuscripts and grant reviews, fundraisers, and educational activities have ceased.
    — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
  • After dramatically reducing the number of children in hotels over the past three years, DHS ceased the practice entirely in November 2025.
    — Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of ceased
Verb
  • After a weak showing in Iowa, Ramaswamy ended his campaign and quickly folded into the broader MAGA-verse.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • During the hearing, which ended without a decision, Reyes chastised the government attorneys, who had previously told the court that renovating the links was still in its conceptual stage.
    — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of ended
Verb
  • Jake Guentzel scored twice and Charle-Edouard D’Astous added another for the Lightning, who saw their three-game winning streak halted.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The attack finally halted when journalist Jasper Nathaniel and several others came to Levine’s aid – but the danger wasn’t over.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of halted
Verb
  • Continue reading ⦠CIVIC BREAKDOWN â Town's entire police force quits after bitter feud with city leaders boils over.
    — , FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • After taking on their third client, Bordelon and Slocum quit their jobs to focus on The Brownstone Boys full-time.
    — Sophie Caldwell,Valentina Duarte, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of quit
Verb
  • One in six households can’t afford to reliably put food on their table, and Texans have had their electricity shut off at one of the highest rates in the United States.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Musk previously ordered SpaceX engineers to shut off Starlink's satellite network over Crimea to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships, according to a chapter in the 2023 Musk biography written by Walter Isaacson.
    — Annie Palmer,Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of shut off
Verb
  • The turning point came on the Chiefs’ second drive, when Kenneth Walker broke off a 33-yard touchdown run to extend Kansas City’s lead to 9-0.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026
  • But five fraternities facing sanctions broke off from the university rather than getting into compliance.
    — Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of broke off
Verb
  • Trustee chair Moncrief said in the official statement that Boschini would pick up where Pullin left off with regard to TCU’s growth plan.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Season 2 picks up from where things left off, with Michael and Diana having barely arrived in Spain when they are dragged back into the fold to answer questions around Ricardo’s death.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of left off
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

laid into
laid off
laid off (of)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Laid off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laid%20off. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All