lay off
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: lays off
form: laying off
form: laid off
form: laid off
Senses: glosses: (of an employer) To dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume or through no fault of the worker, often with a severance package.
synonyms: hedge one's bets
glosses: To place all or part of a bet with another bookmaker in order to reduce risk.
raw_tags: of a bookmaker
examples: text: Lay off the singing, will you! I'm trying to study.
text: When are you gonna lay off smoking?
glosses: To cease, quit, stop (doing something).
examples: text: Just lay off, okay! I've had enough!
text: Things have been better since the boss has been laying off a little.
text: I told him to lay off me but he wouldn't stop.
text: Lay off it, already!
text: First Xavier (Vernon Chatman): You're about as deep as a bowl of soup, and your tongue is as sharp as a soup spoon.
Second Xavier (Vernon Chatman): Hey, say what you want about me, but lay off the soup.
ref: 2008, Xavier: Renegade Angel, season 1, episode 10:
glosses: To stop bothering, teasing, or pestering someone; to leave (someone) alone.
examples: text: At any pro paint shop ask for laying off brushes. These are natural bristle, wide, thin brushes designed for tipping off, not for holding a paint load. (Sourced from a web forum exchange)
text: He shows me how to lay off the paint — and moves his paintbrush across the section he had already painted, again and again.
topics: art
arts
synonyms: tip off
glosses: In painting, to apply gentle strokes to smooth a wet coat of paint so as to remove visible roller- or brush-marks, commonly using a dry brush; a similar technique, but using a loaded laying-off brush, may produce a smooth coat of paint when using a roller or the usual brush techniques would leave marks.
glosses: To plan out (a navigational course) using a chart.
Synonyms: sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: can
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: dismiss
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: fire
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: sack
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: terminate
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: give the axe
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: give the boot
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
english: someone
translation: someone
word: give their cards
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: give the chop
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: give the elbow
sense: The following synonyms carry a harsher context than "lay off"
word: give the old heave-ho
sense: to dismiss workers from employment
word: make redundant
sense: to dismiss workers from employment
word: let go
word: axe
word: decruit
word: dehire
word: discard
word: remove
word: discharge
word: downsize
word: give someone the boot
word: give someone their cards
word: give someone the heave-ho
word: give someone the old heave-ho
word: lay off
word: let someone go
word: pink slip
word: promote to customer
word: retrench
word: serve notice
word: shit-can
word: term
word: throw out
word: unhire
Hypernyms: word: end
word: kick out
word: punish
Hyponyms: word: drum out
word: furlough
word: strike off
word: relieve
word: disbar
word: disbench
word: defrock
word: disfrock
word: unfrock
word: unpriest
Derived terms: layoff
Related terms: word: be surplus to requirements
word: get sacked
word: get the ax
word: get the boot
word: get the chop
word: get the heave-ho
word: get the sack
word: unemployed