Lay off meaning
Lay off means to stop employing workers because there is not enough work or money. It can also mean to stop doing or using something, or stop annoying someone.
lay somebody or something off
lay off · laid · laying
The factory laid off two hundred workers last month.
Lay off meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Stop employing workers because there is not enough work or money
lay somebody or something off
- The factory laid off two hundred workers last month.
- My dad was laid off after twenty years there.
- They promised they wouldn’t lay anyone off this year.
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2
Stop doing or using something, or stop annoying someone
lay off somebody or something
- You should lay off the coffee for a while.
- Lay off him! He’s doing his best.
- I’m laying off social media this month.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use lay off in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is lay off separable?
In the job meaning, lay off is separable: lay off workers, lay workers off, lay them off. It is very often passive: She was laid off.
The noun is one word, layoffs: There were layoffs at the bank. The past is laid, not layed.
Verb tenses for lay off
| Present | I lay off · she lays off |
|---|---|
| Past | laid off |
| Present perfect | have laid off |
| -ing form | laying off |
Common mistakes with lay off
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I was layed off in March.
Right: I was laid off in March.
The past of lay is laid.
Wrong: The company laid off them.
Right: The company laid them off.
A pronoun goes between lay and off.
Wrong: I was fired off because sales were down.
Right: I was laid off because sales were down.
Fire has no off; laid off means not your fault.
Synonyms and opposites of lay off
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- make redundantUK, end someone’s job because it is no longer needed
- fireend someone’s job because of something they did wrong
- let goa softer way to say end someone’s job
Opposite
- hiregive someone a job
- take onUK, start to employ someone
Lay off quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1After the store closed, all the staff were ___.
Lay off means stop employing workers.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The past participle is laid.
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3“Lay off the sweets before dinner!” What does the speaker want?
Informally, lay off something means stop having it.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get offA2leave a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- take offA2remove clothes, shoes or glasses from your body
- put offB1decide to do something later than you planned
- come offB1become separated from the thing it was fixed to
- go offB2start ringing loudly, like an alarm, or explode, like a bomb
- turn offA2make a light, machine or tap stop working
- give offB2produce a smell, heat, light or gas
- set offB1start a journey
Lay off FAQ
Questions people ask about lay off.
What is the difference between laid off and fired?
Laid off means you lost your job because the company had too little work or money. Fired means you lost it because of something you did.
What are layoffs?
Layoffs are job cuts where a company ends many jobs at once: tech layoffs.
What does lay off me mean?
It is informal and means stop criticising or annoying me. It can sound rude.
Use lay off in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.