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Noun: layoff  'ley,óf
  1. The act of laying off an employee or a work force
    - redundancy [Brit, Cdn]
Verb: lay off  ley óf
  1. Put an end to a state or an activity
    "lay off teasing your little brother";
    - discontinue, stop, cease, give up, quit, surcease [archaic]
     
  2. Dismiss, usually for economic reasons
    "She was laid off together with hundreds of other workers when the company downsized";
    - furlough [N. Amer]

Derived forms: layoffs, lays off, laying off, laid off

Type of: can [N. Amer, informal], closedown, closing, closure, dismiss, displace, fire, force out, give notice, give the axe [informal], give the sack, sack, send away, shutdown, terminate

Antonym: preserve

Encyclopedia: Layoff

Lay off