lay off

verb

1. tr, adverb to suspend (workers) from employment with the intention of re-employing them at a later date

   the firm had to lay off 100 men

2. informal.
   intr to leave (a person, thing, or activity) alone

   lay off me, will you!

3. tr, adverb to mark off the boundaries of
4. tr, adverb soccer to pass or deflect (the ball) to a team-mate, esp one in a more advantageous position
5. gambling another term for hedge

noun

1. the act of suspending employees
2. a period of imposed unemployment

Example Sentences

Firms lay-off workers and the loss of income starts to multiply as those workers reduce their spending elsewhere.

From The Daily Beast

This steamy heat is the very deuce to work in, and I'll be glad of the lay-off on Sunday.

From Project Gutenberg

"I betche Andy just wanted a lay-off, and took that way uh getting it," declared Happy Jack pessimistically.

From Project Gutenberg

Such, at least, were my feelings in those long, beautiful June days that followed close on the "lay-off" at Rosenfeld's.

From Project Gutenberg

Almost without exception, there were people at home upon whom this annual "lay-off" fell with tragic force.

From Project Gutenberg

Having completed his work on the wireless plant at the Navy Yard, Bowen thought himself due for a lay-off.

From Project Gutenberg