as in stops
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 lays off
Verb
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When the game stops, it will be called on account of darkness.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026 -
Many guests are juggling packed itineraries—pyramid visits, museum stops, Nile cruise transfers—and the staff are well practiced at coordinating drivers, guides, and early departures.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
Verb
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However, the Vaile Victorian Society, the volunteer group that maintains the house and runs tours, worries that once the house ceases to become a public property, the careful preservation work, which the aged property relies on, will be impossible to maintain.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
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More often than not, the request gets the big kids’ attention, and chaos ceases (pauses) as the three of them roll around singing while Marc and I stand in the doorway kvelling.—
Risa Polansky Shiman,
Sun Sentinel,
6 May 2026
Verb
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What happens once the tour wraps, the season ends, the algorithm cools or the headlines wane?—
Sandra Richards,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
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The Senate passed its own version of the larger health bill so both chambers will have to find compromise before session ends May 18.—
Caroline Cummings,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
Verb
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But Ho's order now halts that effective date.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
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March 2 Oil and gas prices jumped during the first trading day since the strikes, as the war halts energy exports from the Middle East.—
Emma Graham,Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As the rocket’s core stage cuts off, the zero G indicator will begin to float, identifying the moment when the crew is officially in space.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2026
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Turning your phone off or using airplane mode cuts off wireless communication while still allowing alarms to work.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That Sun team, led by Tina Charles, is beating the breaks off the Sparks.—
Kiese Laymon,
Vanity Fair,
30 Apr. 2026
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Each one of those, in this quantum theory, breaks off into another block of cheese.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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So nothing shuts off overnight.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
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This shuts off the engine at stoplights or when idling, and restarts it once the accelerator is pressed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The only smart move Spirit ever made was to call it quits after deciding the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 May 2026
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But in the end, higher jet fuel prices triggered by the Iran war drained cash from the business at an accelerating pace, forcing it to call it quits.—
Bernard Condon,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Lays off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lays%20off. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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