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
Verb
-
Can the textpocalypse be stopped?—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026 -
Otherwise, the Canadiens were stopped on their first shot and scored on their next three in Game 6; the Sabres were stopped on their first shot and scored on three straight against Jakub Dobeš in Game 5.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
During his temporary leadership, FEMA ceased door-to-door canvassing to reach survivors after disasters, and canceled a multibillion-dollar resilience grant program, since restored by a federal judge.—
Gabriela Aoun Angueira,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
-
The president told Congress on May 1 that hostilities had ceased, on the day that would have been the deadline for congressional authorization.—
Garrett Downs,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
After the review, McNabb was assessed a five-minute major penalty for interference and a game misconduct that ended his night.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
After one more look-ahead sizzle reminding the audience about the power of WBD’s IP, the show ended at just about 10 minutes over the hour mark.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Last year alone, opposition stalled or halted more than $156 billion in planned construction spanning 48 data center projects, according to the research firm Data Center Watch.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
-
Proceedings in the case will likely be halted as the Attorney General’s office petitions the Kansas Court of Appeals to overturn Folsom’s temporary injunction ruling.—
Matthew Kelly
May 19,
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The thesis of Brady’s commencement, though, was battling through adversity and never quitting, and the best way for Brady to tell his motivational message was by telling the story of his Super Bowl LI comeback against the Atlanta Falcons.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
-
These are intended to offer an appealing alternative smoking cessation product for adults who wish to quit.—
Joshua P. Cohen,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Once Duquense Light shut off the power to the home, firefighters and rescue paramedics brought the injured worker down from the roof.—
Jennifer Borrasso,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
-
Another sore point has been that the $5 Standby Mode now costs $10 per month, even though many Starlink users have been using it as a low-cost option to keep their portable Starlink Mini dishes online rather than completely shut off access.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Two of Rubén’s older sons, who married Russian acrobats during international stints, broke off and founded their own troupe as Circus Caballero.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
-
Pike was in a relationship with Joe Wright, her Pride & Prejudice director, but the couple broke off their engagement in 2008.—
John Russell,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Her follow-up commentary after the win picked up exactly where those months of pre-fight criticism left off.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
He was left off three straight rosters — including the Gold Cup — between the Concacaf Nations League in March 2025 and November friendlies.—
Tom Bogert,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Laid off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laid%20off. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
