lay off phrasal verb ( see also ↑ lay )
1 . lay somebody ↔ off to stop employing someone because there is no work for them to do ⇨ layoff :
The company laid off 250 workers in December.
Millions of people have been laid off in the steel industry.
2 . lay off (something) informal to stop using or doing something:
I think you’d better lay off alcohol for a while.
lay off doing something
I had to lay off running for several months.
3 . lay off (somebody) informal to stop annoying someone or hurting them:
Just lay off, will you!
I wish he’d lay off me!
4 . lay something ↔ off to pass the ball to someone in your team in a game such as football – used in sports reports
lay something off to somebody
Murphy has the ball and then lays it off to Owen.