LAYOFFS Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

layoffs

noun

plural of layoff

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security. — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026 Channel 4 top brass came in for criticism during layoffs in 2024, when it was revealed its top three earners would accept bonuses. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026 Amid layoffs, corporate restructuring, and role expansion (as employees try to keep up with AI outputs), your workforce is feeling stressed out. — Mallory McCord, Harvard Business Review, 17 Sep. 2026 Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the layoffs. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026 Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment claims last week as jobless claims remain at historically low levels and layoffs are still relatively rare. — ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026 For two years, some of the loudest voices on AI have spoken on white-collar layoffs, vanishing entry-level jobs, and a generation of graduates shut out. — Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2026 That news motivated workers to make layoffs a key issue during negotiations, according to the CWA. — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 Permanent employment fell from 84 people at the end of 2025 to 58 in June, which Spinnova attributed to prolonged temporary layoffs at Woodspin and Spinnova Refining and subsequent resignations. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for layoffs

Noun

Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer, and reporter Lara Korte at Stars and Stripes – a military news outlet that is partially funded by the Pentagon – claimed their dismissals were retaliatory and violated the First Amendment.

— Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Jeremiah Johnson, vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said asylum rates appear to be one factor, but the dismissals cannot be attributed to a single reason.

— Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of dismissals

Noun

Wet El Niño winters can fill reservoirs such as Folsom and Oroville quickly, forcing larger releases downstream and sending water into the Yolo and Sutter bypasses.

— Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026
With climate change, droughts are getting more severe, winters are getting warmer, and average snow lines have moved higher in the mountains.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of winters

Noun

Patel later suggested that the scope of firings had been overblown, saying many agents had retired on their own.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
Meanwhile, the lawmakers, three former Education secretaries and the largest federal employee union are calling for an inspector general investigation into the mass firings made at the department last year.

— Arthur Jones II, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of firings

Noun

These trends often materialize in batch changeovers, supplier changes, line downtimes and traceability challenges.

— Ihor Yurchenko, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 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

Definition of downtimes

Noun

Autonomous trucks have the potential to roll for up to 20 hours a day, while a truck driver's hours are limited by federal laws that require drivers to take breaks.

— Phil LeBeau,Meghan Reeder, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
But baseball teams that outlast the competition over a full season are more impressive to me than those that catch enough breaks during the small sample size of October.

— Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of breaks

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lay off (of)

layoffs

lay on

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“Layoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layoffs. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of layoffs

noun

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