1
as in dismissals
the termination of the employment of an employee or a work force often temporarily
even senior employees lost their jobs in the massive layoff
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in winters
a period of often involuntary inactivity or idleness
after such a long layoff the boxer badly needed to get back into shape
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of layoffs
The departments recently faced budget cuts as the city attempted to close the gap of a $1 billion budget shortfall and avoid mass layoffs.
—
Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
You might not have been affected by this round of layoffs, but the harms of extreme wealth concentration are coming for all of us.
—Alex Lee, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
The Destiny 2 team is sitting around doing nothing, waiting for upcoming layoffs, but the entire thing remains bizarre.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
In March, Scentsy announced 87 layoffs, including at its Meridian headquarters east of the warehouse, near Eagle Road.
—Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 18 June 2026
Some Hurricane Hunter staff were affected by the layoffs.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 17 June 2026
But Bozeman insisted this isn’t tied to mass layoffs.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 12 June 2026
Overall, the vibes at SGF 2026 were markedly up compared to those from last year and 2024, when layoffs plaguing the industry and multiple game cancellations and releases were the main topics of conversation.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 11 June 2026
While several of these positions are vacant to avoid layoffs, representatives said the reductions would nevertheless devastate public safety efforts.
—Reeti Malhotra
june 11, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026
Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
You might not have been affected by this round of layoffs, but the harms of extreme wealth concentration are coming for all of us.
—Alex Lee, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
The Destiny 2 team is sitting around doing nothing, waiting for upcoming layoffs, but the entire thing remains bizarre.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
In March, Scentsy announced 87 layoffs, including at its Meridian headquarters east of the warehouse, near Eagle Road.
—Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 18 June 2026
Some Hurricane Hunter staff were affected by the layoffs.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 17 June 2026
But Bozeman insisted this isn’t tied to mass layoffs.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 12 June 2026
Overall, the vibes at SGF 2026 were markedly up compared to those from last year and 2024, when layoffs plaguing the industry and multiple game cancellations and releases were the main topics of conversation.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 11 June 2026
While several of these positions are vacant to avoid layoffs, representatives said the reductions would nevertheless devastate public safety efforts.
—Reeti Malhotra
june 11, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for layoffs
Noun
-
So after an abysmal home sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox over Fourth of July weekend, Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner delivered news of the dismissals to Rizzo and field manager Dave Martinez.—
Barry Svrluga,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Even so, these dismissals are symptomatic of a system in crisis.—
Rebecca Dunlea,
The Conversation,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Officials said a warming climate and milder winters allow ticks to remain active for longer periods of the year and expand their geographic ranges into areas that used to be too cold to sustain them.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
15 June 2026
-
The Pacific Northwest, on the other hand, generally gets drier winters.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Breslow knows a sell-off would mean admitting the firings didn’t work.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Donovan’s departure followed the April 6 firings of executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley with four games left in the season.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
When everyone from operators to engineers and managers are able to discuss yields, downtimes, reworks and even traceability in terms of factual data, discussions can become significantly more fruitful.—
Ihor Yurchenko,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
The average response time for phone calls dropped to 6 minutes from 30 minutes in the prior fiscal year; field office wait times decreased to 23 minutes; and removal of online service downtimes has benefited an additional 125,000 users in a single week, according to the agency's findings.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The savings the city will get from the unpaid worker furloughs during the first year of the deal — the new fiscal year starting July 1 — nearly covers the cost of the 2% raises and other benefits employees get that first year.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 June 2026
-
The furloughs come just weeks before the museum’s annual Juneteenth celebration, as well as the third anniversary of its opening on June 27.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Yes, there were lulls, to be sure.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
-
The quality, however, doesn’t make for a pleasant viewing experience, especially during lulls in the season like the one the Dodgers are currently battling through.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
In the director’s view, fragmented editing breaks emotional continuity; an unbroken take mirrors the uninterrupted flow of lived experience.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
20 June 2026
-
There will be hydration breaks during games and special rules that take effect if the on-field temperature exceeds 32°C (90°F).—
Arthur L. Kellermann,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Layoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layoffs. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
