1
as in dismissal
the termination of the employment of an employee or a work force often temporarily
even senior employees lost their jobs in the massive layoff
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in winter
a period of often involuntary inactivity or idleness
after such a long layoff the boxer badly needed to get back into shape
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
you need to lay off eating those jelly doughnuts, or you'll end up looking like one
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of layoff
Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
This month, layoffs at the Health and Human Services Department prompted the closure of roughly a half-dozen regional Head Start offices.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
Now the White House Is Expanding the Strategy In the Trump administration's early days, thousands of federal employees doing critical work—overseeing the U.S. nuclear stockpile, researching and working to prevent bird flu, overseeing food safety and more—were abruptly laid off before being rehired.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for layoff
Noun
Several months later, the former student lost his job in a round of layoffs.
—Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025
This month, layoffs at the Health and Human Services Department prompted the closure of roughly a half-dozen regional Head Start offices.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
Verb
In the past two months, the Trump administration has laid off thousands of workers at numerous agencies and paused trillions of dollars worth of federal grants.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
Now the White House Is Expanding the Strategy In the Trump administration's early days, thousands of federal employees doing critical work—overseeing the U.S. nuclear stockpile, researching and working to prevent bird flu, overseeing food safety and more—were abruptly laid off before being rehired.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for layoff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for layoff
Noun
-
For years, Chicago Public School officials would send dozens of names of problematic employees to monthly board meetings for their dismissals to be signed off on.—
Nell Salzman,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Apr. 2025
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But chipping away at central bank independence, as Trump appears to be doing with his open criticism of the Fed chair and implicit threats of dismissal, is a historically sure way to high inflation.—
Ana Carolina Garriga,
The Conversation,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Sika believes the sand was unstable because of dredging that occurred during the winter.—
Sam Gillette,
People.com,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Yes, the winter can be tough but the greenhouse movement has grown each and every year which helps.—
Liza B. Zimmerman,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The confrontation stopped and restarted as the man appeared to try to get the knife away from Perez over the fence.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
-
When the American money stopped flowing, the local soup kitchen closed and Ms. Musa went out searching for food.—
Declan Walsh,
New York Times,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The two decisions represent a significant setback for the states, the unions and the civic organizations that had sued the government in an effort to block the summary firings of more than 24,000 federal workers.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
9 Apr. 2025
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Ken Russell, who is also running for mayor, was one of the two remaining commissioners to vote against his firing.—
Tess Riski,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The new season involves a prison break and follows a criminal group, the Phantom Gang, undertaking more daring heists while being pursued by the cops.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Both sides took disappointing MLS breaks since their previous meeting.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The cuts do not necessarily mean a program will cease to operate.—
Melody Schreiber,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2025
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The Department of Government Efficiency may not last much longer, but that doesn’t mean fraud and waste will cease.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Then came a cost of living crisis fueled by the war in Ukraine and governments increasing taxes to cover the cost of furlough payments during the pandemic.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
-
There were already 400 UAW members on indefinite furlough in Kokomo even before Monday’s layoffs.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
This means a simple restart triggers the update, rather than the longer downtime as new software downloads and installs.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
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Those are the dangerous ones, as McIlroy admittedly allows his mind to wander during downtime.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Layoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layoff. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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