lay·off

[ley-awf, -of]
noun
1.
the act of dismissing employees, especially temporarily.
2.
a period of enforced unemployment or inactivity.

Origin:
1885–90, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase lay off

lay off, layoff.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

layoff
also lay off; 1889, "rest, respite;" from lay (-) + off. Via seasonal labor with periodic down time, it came to have a sense of "temporary release from employment," and by 1960s was being used somewhat euphemistically for permanent releases of masses of workers by employers.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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00:10
Layoff is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

layoff definition


The temporary or permanent removal of a worker from his or her job, usually because of cutbacks in production or corporate reorganization.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
The second layoff was from a startup company that never quite started up.
Declare financial exigency, or whatever in your system must be declared, to
  permit the layoff of faculty and staff members.
It is natural to feel stress and grief through the layoff process.
It's not an easy choice, particularly for companies in layoff mode.
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