layoff
/lā′ôf″, -ŏf″/
noun
- A dismissal of employees from their jobs because of tightened budgetary constraints or work shortage (not due to poor performance or misconduct).
- A period of time when someone is unavailable for work.
- (UK, soccer) A short pass that has been rolled in front of another player for them to kick.
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › layoff
LAYOFF Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
1 week ago - Synonyms of layoff · 1 · : a period of inactivity or idleness · 2 · : the act of laying off an employee or a workforce · also : shutdown · lay off 2 of 2 · laid off; laying off; lays off · transitive verb · 1 · : to mark or measure ...
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › lay off
Lay off - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
Lay off is used as a verb, while layoff is a noun: "It's shocking they decided to lay off our whole department. I didn't expect layoffs this year." ... can, dismiss, displace, fire, force out, give notice, give the axe, give the sack, sack, ...
Quora
quora.com › Is-it-laid-off-or-layed-off
Is it 'laid off' or 'layed off'? - Quora
Answer (1 of 4): Is it "laid off" or "layed off"? It should be “laid off.” While “layed” is an increasingly popular spelling of the word, it is not technically considered to be correct.
Laid off vs lay off | WordReference Forums
Hello everyone There are two options in the following parentheses. The employees (were laid off/ lay off) just before the holiday. Are there chances that both of them are correct and make a real meaningful sentence? To me, the first one, "were laid off", makes a passive voice which means... More on forum.wordreference.com
What's the REAL difference between getting laid off vs. getting 'let go' (i.e., fired, sh*t canned, axed, etc.), and can prospective employers tell the difference? If so, how??
If you are in the US your old employer GENERALLY wont say much more than that you worked there for the time period you worked there, due to possibly being sued. but some do state whether you would be eligible for re-hire or not. Your company has provided "proof" you were not fired for cause. So do not say you were fired. That leaves handling being laid off. As for being laid off, just say there was a RIF and you were affected. Its the truth, there was a RIF, (you) and you were certainly affected. The shorter the better. Do not tell the new company any more than that. If they dig deeper into why you left your last job, that is a red flag that they may be toxic. More on reddit.com
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May 8, 2025Did someone experience irreversible damage due to being laid off?
If I can’t figure out something soon, ya I’d say so. We had moved back to our home state, where I am apparently unhirable after a decade plus in big tech. Options now include like line cook, or starting / buying my own business. Like a clown I still fill out applications daily, but inevitably I get the “sorry this role was filled!” Or “although your qualifications are impressive, we are moving ahead with candidates more closely aligned with our business” 🤡 More on reddit.com
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April 17, 2024Were You Ever Laid Off From A Job? How Did You Bounce Back?
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See this post , the rules, and the sidebar for details. Thank you for your submission, Time-Soup-8924. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com
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April 10, 2025Is it on accident or by accident?
The original and correct phrase is “by accident.” However, “on accident” is an error likely formed by people trying to say the opposite of “on purpose.” Although it’s a common mistake, the right way to say this phrase is “by accident.” · You can avoid this error by replacing “by accident” with “accidentally” (e.g., “I broke the lamp by accident” vs. “I broke the lamp accidentally”). Make sure not to replace it with “accidently,” as this is considered a common misspelling.
quillbot.com
quillbot.com › home › is it layed off or laid off?
Is it layed off or laid off?
Is email hyphenated?
The word “email” doesn’t have to be hyphenated. Both “email” and “e-mail” are widely used and accepted, although “email” has become more common. · The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure your writing is free of punctuation and spelling errors.
quillbot.com
quillbot.com › home › is it layed off or laid off?
Is it layed off or laid off?
What does accidentaly mean?
“Accidentaly” is an incorrect spelling of “accidentally,” which is an adverb that describes an action as unintentional (e.g., “I accidentally went to the wrong class”). Another common misspelling is “accidently.” · Use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to ensure your writing is free of spelling errors.
quillbot.com
quillbot.com › home › is it layed off or laid off?
Is it layed off or laid off?
Videos
03:51
Improve your vocabulary/Learn American English/ fired / laid off ...
Phrasal Verbs Ep. 45 | Lay Off
01:31
What does "Lay Off " Mean? #english #esl #languagelearning #grammar ...
09:40
Why did Algoma Steel lay off 1,000 workers after getting $500M ...
22:00
Is This A New Low For How Companies Lay Off? - YouTube
01:05
"Lay off" Phrasal Verb Explained in 1 Minute - YouTube
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Layoff
Layoff - Wikipedia
October 21, 2025 - Laid off workers or displaced workers are workers who have lost or left their jobs because their employer has closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished (Borbely, 2011).
temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees for business reasons
Indeed
indeed.com › career-advice › career-development › termination-vs-laid-off
Termination vs. Layoff: What's the Difference? | Indeed.com
3 weeks ago - Being laid off is when an employee's position is no longer needed within a company, which can happen during company downsizing or outsourcing, a business merger or acquisition or even a company relocation.
WordReference
forum.wordreference.com › english only › english only
Laid off vs lay off | WordReference Forums
May 24, 2020 - Hi Barque Thanks for sending your opinion Sorry for my late reply Yes, they are different in meaning. As mentioned earlier, with "were laid off" (past participle of "to lay off"), it's a passive voice.
ADP
adp.com › resources › articles-and-insights › articles › f › furlough-vs-laid-off.aspx
Furlough vs Laid Off: What is the Difference? | ADP
May 16, 2025 - Furloughed individuals are still considered employees and usually resume their jobs at a later point, while those who are laid off are separated from their employer indefinitely. Further distinctions between furloughs and layoffs are as follows:
QuillBot
quillbot.com › home › is it layed off or laid off?
Is it layed off or laid off?
February 4, 2025 - When someone loses their job, or is made redundant, then they are laid off. “Layed” isn’t a word in standard English. Lay is an irregular verb, so it
Career Connections
careerconnections.twu.edu › blog › 2020 › 03 › 24 › laid-off-this-is-what-it-means-and-what-to-do
Laid Off? This is What it Means and What to Do – Career Connections | Texas Woman's University
March 24, 2020 - Being laid off and being fired are separate types of dismissals from a company. An employee may be fired for poor job performance, inappropriate conduct or behavior, a violation of company standards or rules, not meeting her contractual terms ...
Whatishumanresource
whatishumanresource.com › layoff--laid-off-and-Retrenchment
Whatishumanresource.com - Layoff / Laid off and Retrenchment- Definitions - Rule Position - Differences
- Cambridge · Temporary or permanent discharge of a worker or workers: -Oxford Dictionary · Layoff (in British and American English), also called redundancy in the UK, is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an ...
Monkhouse Law
monkhouselaw.com › home › the difference between laid off and terminated
The Difference Between Laid Off and Terminated - Monkhouse Law
June 6, 2025 - If an employee is not returned ... constructive dismissal. In contrast to a layoff, a termination is a permanent cessation of the relationship between the employer and the employee....
Reddit
reddit.com › r/layoffs › what's the real difference between getting laid off vs. getting 'let go' (i.e., fired, sh*t canned, axed, etc.), and can prospective employers tell the difference? if so, how??
r/Layoffs on Reddit: What's the REAL difference between getting laid off vs. getting 'let go' (i.e., fired, sh*t canned, axed, etc.), and can prospective employers tell the difference? If so, how??
May 8, 2025 -
I was let go from my job recently. I was a high performer at one point, but after years of stress, anxiety, and toxicity, I ended up burning out, and my lack of motivation became impossible to ignore.
I wasn't fired for cause, it was just my time to go.
My question is this. Can companies I'm interviewing with tell if I was terminated vs. laid off? My company packaged me out in a way that allows me to collect unemployment insurance. Where I live, you can't collect unemployment if you've been terminated for cause. They also provided me with a letter verifying my employment.
I have an interview on Monday, and I'm stressing about how to position this whole thing. I don't want to LIE and say I was laid off, but the record of employment they submitted to the feds DOES say my employment ended due to business reasons/lack of work/contract ending...
So, my options are...
Lie and say I got laid off for business reasons/restructuring and then quickly change the subject // pray they don't press for more details or somehow dig up the truth...(could they somehow?? Is that even possible??)
Massage the truth slightly and say that after several recent acquisitions, my division suddenly became very crowded and the company made some positions redundant, including mine (which is MORE true than option one, I'm just leaving out the part where I made myself redundant by fully checking out...lol)
OR
3) Tell the truth and say it wasn't working out, and we had to part ways......?? This option seems like a very bad idea; I'm trying to make a GOOD first impression, not make them think I'm a total toxic flop!
Any advice or stories on how you've handled situations like this would be very very helpful.
PS: please be gentle, i know getting fired is bad; i was a bad bad Snoo and I promise I've learned my lesson.
Top answer 1 of 30
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If you are in the US your old employer GENERALLY wont say much more than that you worked there for the time period you worked there, due to possibly being sued. but some do state whether you would be eligible for re-hire or not. Your company has provided "proof" you were not fired for cause. So do not say you were fired. That leaves handling being laid off. As for being laid off, just say there was a RIF and you were affected. Its the truth, there was a RIF, (you) and you were certainly affected. The shorter the better. Do not tell the new company any more than that. If they dig deeper into why you left your last job, that is a red flag that they may be toxic.
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Your understandable nervousness over the interview is leading you to overthink this. If I were the manager on the other end, interviewing you—as I once was, until very recently—I would only have a cursory interest in why you left your latest job. I'm more interested in what you did, what your skills are, what you might need to work on a little (since a perfect fit is rare) and how you can help me solve my problems. Layoffs are so common now, they mean a lot less to me now than they did years ago. So many are for business reasons that have very little to do with the person in front of me. The company didn't execute well on its strategy or business conditions changed and it didn't adapt well to the shift. Its employees became casualties of that.
Tomorrowlaw
tomorrowlaw.com › home › what is the difference between laid off and terminated in california?
Difference Between Laid Off and Terminated in California
August 15, 2025 - For some, a layoff may be temporary, while for others, it represents a permanent termination of employment that requires a shift into a new job search. In California, applicable companies that employ 100 or more employees forced to lay off any ...
Investopedia
investopedia.com › terms › l › layoff.asp
Understanding Layoffs: Definitions, Statistics, and Real-Life Example
November 23, 2003 - A layoff is an involuntary job termination, usually initiated by the employer as a cost-cutting measure. Laid-off workers can get government unemployment benefits, while those fired for cause can't.
Aegis Law
aegislawfirm.com › home › blog › “lay-off” vs. “terminated” vs. “at-will”
"Lay-Off" vs. "Terminated" vs. "At-Will" | Aegis Law Firm
July 24, 2019 - According to California Labor Code §1400(c), being “laid off” means “a separation from a position for a lack of funds or lack of work.” A layoff is specifically used to define a person who was let go based on the nature of the quantity ...
AllVoices
allvoices.co › glossary › layoff
What is a Layoff? Definition and Explanation | AllVoices
Learn what a Layoff is. Termination of employees due to business reasons.
Pelago
pelagohealth.com › resources › hr-glossary › layoff
Layoff: HR Terms Explained | Pelago
A layoff is a temporary or permanent termination of employment due to a company downsizing or restructuring.
Darwinbox
explore.darwinbox.com › hr-glossary › layoff
What is Layoff? | Meaning & Definition | HR Glossary
A layoff is the suspension or permanent termination of employment of workers by their employer. A layoff does not occur because workers did something wrong. People are laid off because the commercial enterprise’s sales have declined, it is in financial trouble, has gone bankrupt, or is unable ...
WordWeb
wordwebonline.com › en › LAYOFF
layoff, lay off, layoffs, laying off, laid off, lays off- WordWeb dictionary definition
The act of laying off an employee or a work force "The company announced a massive layoff due to economic downturn"; - redundancy [Brit, Cdn]Verb: lay off ley óf · Dismiss, usually for economic reasons "She was laid off together with hundreds of other workers when the company downsized"; ...
EEOC
eeoc.gov › employers › small-business › avoiding-discrimination-layoffs-or-reductions-force-rif
Avoiding Discrimination in Layoffs or Reductions in Force (RIF) | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Menu ... Before implementing a layoff or reduction in force (RIF), review the process to determine if it will result in the disproportionate dismissal of older employees, employees with disabilities or any other group protected by federal employment discrimination laws. List the employees who would be laid off or terminated based on your layoff/RIF criteria.