laying off

verb

present participle of lay off
as in ending
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laying off
  1. ending
  2. stopping
  3. ceasing
  4. halting
  5. cutting off
  6. shutting off
  7. breaking off
  8. cutting out
Verb
  • Rahm shot 5-under 67 and was 23-under par for the week at Yas Links, two strokes clear of Hatton (68) and four ahead of McIlroy (69) in the first of the two season-ending playoff tournaments in the United Arab Emirates.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Since taking over as the starter after a season-ending injury to Linc Frazier, Stephenson has passed for 1,420 yards and 21 touchdowns.
    — Jon Poorman, Houston Chronicle, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of ending
Verb
  • Cornerbacks Jacob Parrish and Zyon McCollum had Tampa Bay's other picks, with the last turnover stopping a second-half drive in Bucs territory when Atlanta still had an opportunity to get back into the game.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • At the rear, stopping duties are handled by a 230-mm disc and a two-piston caliper, also using 27-mm pistons.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of stopping
Verb
  • Based on anonymous reports — 2,888 at last count — the site tracks and ranks the companies that are most often accused of abruptly ceasing contact with candidates, including some of the biggest names in the S&P 500.
    — Sophie Caldwell, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Calvin lives in Snook’s Arm, a community on the verge of ceasing to exist.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of ceasing
Verb
  • Since then, the administration has opened the doors to more than 16,000 white South Africans while halting virtually all other immigration.
    — Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Zelenskyy said Ukraine's priorities for the talks were halting strikes on energy and critical infrastructure, unblocking Black Sea grain shipments and expanding prisoner exchanges.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of halting
Verb
  • Across administrations, Washington has imposed financial sanctions on rivals, such as Iran and Russia, cutting off their access to dollar transactions and thereby kneecapping their foreign trade.
    — Gordon Liao, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The next day, historic flooding tore through parts of the region — washing out highways, triggering rock and mudslides and cutting off communities that have spent more than a week navigating lengthy detours.
    — Kelly Werthmann, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of cutting off
Verb
  • The pair hunched over a laptop, studying the intricacies of Miller’s approach to shutting off the baseline on defense.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Southern California Edison is considering shutting off power to some 250,000 customers.
    — Simmone Shah, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of shutting off
Verb
  • Mackert showed an exacting style, breaking off big runs and dishing out hard hits in short-yardage situations.
    — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The Rams came out strong to start the second half, Corum breaking off a 23-yard touchdown run for a 17-9 lead.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of breaking off
Verb
  • But today, the focus on cutting out useless tasks is much stronger, driven by a real push to shrink workforce expenses.
    — Konstantin Klyagin, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The headphones were very good at cutting out noise from a plane engine.
    — Christian de Looper, PC Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of cutting out
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

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

Cite this Entry

“Laying off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laying%20off. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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