lay off
2 meanings
stop employing workers because there is not enough work for them
What does "lay off" mean in this sense?
Examples
- The company laid off 200 workers last month due to falling sales.
- When she heard they might lay her off, she started looking for a new job immediately.
- Thousands of employees have been laid off since the factory announced its closure.
How to use it
The most common pattern, where the company or employer is the subject and the workforce is the object.
The airline announced it would lay off around 3,000 ground staff due to reduced passenger numbers.
When the object is a pronoun, it must go between the two parts of the phrasal verb — it cannot come after 'off'.
Sales had dropped so badly that the manager had to lay them off before Christmas.
The passive is very common, especially in news reporting or when the focus is on the workers rather than the company making the decision.
Over 500 engineers were laid off when the tech firm lost its biggest client.
This verb commonly follows modal-style expressions that describe the company's situation or intentions.
The retailer is planning to lay off a significant portion of its warehouse staff after the merger.
It's natural to specify the scale of the layoffs using a number or proportion before the noun.
The carmaker laid off a third of its workforce during the economic downturn.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
When you use a pronoun like 'them', 'him', or 'her', it must go between 'lay' and 'off', never after 'off'.
'Lay off' specifically means job losses caused by economic or structural reasons — not the worker's fault. 'Fire' means someone loses their job because of something they did wrong. Using 'lay off' when poor performance is the reason will sound unnatural or misleading.
'Lay off' also has an informal meaning of 'stop doing something' or 'stop bothering someone' (e.g. 'Lay off the sugar!'). The employment sense always involves a human workforce as the object and an economic reason — so context is important to avoid ambiguity.
Usage
In American English, 'lay off' is the standard term for job losses caused by economic reasons, not poor performance. In British English, 'make redundant' is more common in formal writing, but 'lay off' is widely used and understood in both varieties.
stop doing something annoying or harmful (informal)
Sense 2: What does "lay off" mean?
Examples
- Lay off! I've already said I'm sorry three times.
- She finally told her brother to lay off and he stopped teasing her.
- Would you just lay off? I'm doing my best here.
How to use it
The most natural use — a standalone command telling someone to stop their irritating behaviour, with no object needed.
Lay off! I've already apologised twice.
Adding words like 'just', 'will you', or 'would you' softens the command slightly or adds emphasis to the frustration.
Would you just lay off? I'm trying to concentrate.
Used in reported speech to describe asking or ordering someone to stop their annoying behaviour.
She had to tell her colleague to lay off before he finally stopped making jokes about it.
Tags like 'already', 'okay', or 'please' are often added at the end to express extra weariness or to make the plea sound more urgent.
Lay off already — I get the point!
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
In this intransitive sense, 'lay off' stands alone with no object. Inserting a pronoun like 'me' after the particle sounds unnatural here — if you want to name the person, use 'leave me alone' instead.
'Lay off' also means to dismiss workers from a job, which is a completely different and transitive use. Context usually makes this clear, but be aware that naming an object ('the company laid off staff') signals the employment sense, not this one.
This sense of 'lay off' is strongly informal and almost always spoken. Using it in an email, report, or any professional situation would sound inappropriate — opt for 'please stop' or 'I'd appreciate it if you stopped' instead.
Usage
This sense is very informal and almost always spoken. It is used on both sides of the Atlantic and sounds natural as a blunt, frustrated command — not appropriate in formal or professional situations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'lay off' always mean the workers lose their jobs permanently?
Not always — in some contexts, especially in American English, a layoff can be temporary, with the expectation that workers will be called back when business improves. However, in most modern usage, particularly in news reporting, it refers to a permanent end to employment. Adding a word like 'temporarily' makes the meaning clear when needed.
Is 'lay off' more American or British English?
It's widely used in both varieties, but it's particularly dominant in American English for describing job losses due to economic reasons. British English speakers often prefer 'make redundant' in more formal writing, though 'lay off' is completely natural and understood throughout the English-speaking world.
Can I use 'lay off' in the present perfect tense?
Yes, the present perfect works very naturally with this sense — for example, 'The company has laid off hundreds of workers this year.' However, the present perfect continuous sounds awkward with this specific meaning, so avoid saying something like 'They have been laying off workers for months' — it's better to say 'They have laid off workers repeatedly' or 'They have been making workers redundant'.
What's the noun form of 'lay off'?
The noun is 'layoff' (one word, common in American English) or 'lay-off' (hyphenated, more common in British English). It's very frequently used, especially in phrases like 'mass layoffs', 'face a layoff', or 'a wave of layoffs'. The noun form often appears in headlines and business news.
Who can be the subject of 'lay off' — does it have to be a big company?
No, any employer can be the subject — from a large corporation to a small business, a startup, a government department, or even an individual manager acting on behalf of an organisation. What matters is that the subject has the authority to end someone's employment, and the reason is economic or structural rather than the worker's behaviour.
Does 'lay off' always mean 'stop it' or does it have other meanings?
No, 'lay off' has more than one meaning. This entry covers only the informal sense of telling someone to stop annoying or pestering you. The same phrase is also used to mean dismissing workers from a job, and in a related (but different) sense to mean stopping a specific habit or activity. The key here is that this sense stands alone with no object — it's just 'Lay off!' with nothing after it.
Is 'lay off' used in both British and American English?
Yes, this sense is common on both sides of the Atlantic. It's a natural, informal expression in everyday spoken English whether you're in the UK or the US, so you don't need to worry about it sounding out of place with either audience.
Can I use 'lay off' in past or present tenses, or is it only an imperative?
It appears most naturally as an imperative ('Lay off!') or in reported speech ('She told him to lay off'). Declarative sentences in other tenses feel quite unnatural for this sense — you wouldn't typically say 'He lays off every evening' using this meaning. Stick to direct commands or reported commands for the most natural result.
What's the difference between 'lay off' and 'back off'?
'Back off' tends to suggest a more physical or threatening situation, as if someone is getting too close or too aggressive. 'Lay off' is better suited to situations where someone is being irritating, nagging, or pestering — it has more of a weary, exasperated tone than a confrontational one.
How strong or rude does 'lay off' sound?
It's fairly blunt and direct, but not extremely rude — it's the kind of thing you might say to a friend, sibling, or close colleague who is annoying you. Adding 'please' or 'would you' softens it a little. That said, because of its informal tone, it would still be considered too abrupt in a professional or polite formal setting.
Ready to practise?
Practise 1,000+ English phrasal verbs with interactive gap-fill exercises.
Start Practising →