lay off (of)

verb

Definition of lay off (of)next
as in to abandon
to stop doing (something) permanently we warned him to lay off of the cigarette smoking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lay off (of)
  1. abandon
  2. discontinue
  3. quit
  4. drop
Verb
  • The decision, however, has been the subject of apparent criticism from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, who have claimed Williams and Wilmore were abandoned by the Biden administration.
    — Jackie Wattles, CNN, 18 Mar. 2025
  • After Rubio’s orders to stop work, the cleanup crews were forced to abandon the site, and, for weeks, all that was covering the contaminated dirt were tarps, which at one point blew off in the wind.
    — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 17 Mar. 2025
Definition of abandon
Verb
  • The company discontinued operations of its subsidiary Race Day Mortgage, Inc. in December 2023 due to low loan demand and lack of profitability.
    — Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2025
  • After more than 25 years, Des Moines plans to discontinue mosquito spraying, monitoring and testing in the upcoming season to save money.
    — Jason Clayworth, Axios, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of discontinue
Verb
  • This is crucial, as 1 in 3 workers report having quit a role due to not aligning with the viewpoints of an organization’s leadership.
    — Sander van ‘t Noordende, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
  • At the time, Mitsuda was even threatening to quit at Square completely if he wasn’t given the chance to compose a game.
    — Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2025
Definition of quit
Verb
  • Not even the property insurance sector, which is traditionally considered to be recession-proof, will be untouched by an economic downturn, experts warned, with homeowners facing the possibility of seeing premiums finally drop as competition grows or skyrocket should natural disasters strike.
    — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Rather than dive into a song and drop the curtain on a set anchored by a statue-like representation of two hands holding a crown, Blige disappeared and ceded attention to a video montage touting her accolades and achievements.
    — Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of drop
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

lay off (of)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lay off (of).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lay%20off%20%28of%29. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All