lays off

verb

present tense third-person singular of lay off
as in stops
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lays off
  1. stops
  2. ceases
  3. ends
  4. halts
  5. cuts off
  6. breaks off
  7. shuts off
  8. quits
Verb
  • Last week, when Ocasio-Cortez made three campaign stops for Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, neither Democrat — and no audience members — brought up the topic of Gaza.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • In January 2025, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch changed the department pursuit policy, barring cops from chasing after vehicles fleeing car stops unless a felony crime or a violent misdemeanor was committed.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of stops
Verb
  • There is a point beyond which the scale of a threat or a danger ceases to scare us.
    — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The audience ceases to be a destination for your voice and becomes the structure that shapes it.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of ceases
Verb
  • When the mandate ends, the force will have one year to wrap up its operations and withdraw.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Tuck drumstick ends under band of skin across the tail if present or tie drumsticks securely to tail using 100%- cotton kitchen string.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of ends
Verb
  • The court's decision halts the effort for now, leaving BARC open while the legal challenge continues.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • This natural inversion destroys leadership, fractures relationships and halts self-improvement.
    — Brendan Keegan, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of halts
Verb
  • The officers are seen lifting Belgal from the car before the video cuts off.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Reviving a yearslong disagreement, the city of Batavia is again asking Aurora to remove a gate on Wagner Road off Mesa Lane, which currently cuts off one way of entering and exiting a neighborhood on the edge of Aurora’s border with Batavia.
    — Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of cuts off
Verb
  • This is the most significant ice calving event (where ice breaks off of a glacier) seen in the Arctic since 2020.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2026
  • According to the reports, the malfunctions occurred during the ride's signature ‘tilt' portion, where the segment of track containing the ride vehicle breaks off completely and tilts forward 45 degrees before reconnecting to another piece of track at a 90-degree angle to the ground below.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Definition of breaks off
Verb
  • Most movies are paired with local live acts to fill the air as the crowd mills in or to keep the party going long after the projector shuts off.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Inflation has reached absurd heights, the Lebanese pound is all but worthless, and the government shuts off the electricity for more than half of each day.
    — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of shuts off
Verb
  • Every researcher who quits Anthropic to write a viral letter about extinction is casting himself, in the drama running in his own head, as Oppenheimer walking away from the bomb.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Except that Ruari quits university just days into the term to move back home without explanation.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of quits
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

lays into
lays off
lays off (of)
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Cite this Entry

“Lays off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lays%20off. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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