1
as in dismissal
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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2
as in winter
a period of often involuntary inactivity or idleness
after such a long layoff the boxer badly needed to get back into shape
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as in to stop
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
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Examples of layoff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 4 Sep. 2024
Some districts may also try to shrink their staffing pools with attrition rather than layoffs.
—Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2024
Sherri Thomas, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
Once the interest rates skyrocketed, I was laid off not once but twice in 2023, and was unemployed for a total of four months.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for layoff 
Noun
The planned sale and layoffs, which will affect around 30 employees, should increase income by $20 million, according to Lyft.
—Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 4 Sep. 2024
Some districts may also try to shrink their staffing pools with attrition rather than layoffs.
—Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2024
Verb
One of my clients had worked in the finance industry for over 15 years when she was abruptly laid off.
—Sherri Thomas, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
Once the interest rates skyrocketed, I was laid off not once but twice in 2023, and was unemployed for a total of four months.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for layoff
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Layoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layoff. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.
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