to lay off
118
3.4
- phrasal verb
- /leɪ ɔf/
- Informal
- Please lay off the teasing; it's really bothering me.
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Watch on YouTubeCould Trump be charged with trying to get a threat or warning to Yates to lay off Flynn via comedy?
- Could Trump be charged with trying to get a threat or warning to Yates to lay off Flynn via comedy?
- Did any of them at any time ask their Russian pals if they would lay off the international cybercrime?
- So lay off my man Anthony.
- That's you need to lay off the mushrooms at that point, right?
- You wake up happy, maybe stop jerking off or, you know, yeah, no sex, maybe lay off the candy at night.
- Yeah, oh, do you know I was going to say lay off the vodka crown, but no, be realistic, please.
Examples
-
Oh, lay off the beer, Julius.
-
Girls, I'm telling you, lay off.
-
Just, just lay off me, man!
-
Hey, Mom, lay off the kid.
-
Hey, lay off him, all right?
-
I think you should lay off him; this business about your cousin.
Fiction book (1998) -
So lay off my man Anthony.
-
Yeah, I think we should lay off the pills.
-
Do you think I could lay off the booze?
-
By the way, you might want to lay off the caffeine.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To make something end and not continue
∞
1.0
To stop an activity or end a habit
∞
1.2
To stop trying to do something or accept defeat
∞
1.0
To stop doing a habit or activity like smoking
970
1.6
To leave a vehicle, for example a bus, or stop annoying someone
543
1.4
To stop doing something for a short time to rest or relax before continuing
443
2.8
Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something
440
3.6
To stop or come to an end
313
3.1
To stop working for a short time
217
3.7
To stop doing something you once did
184
7.4
Stop doing something, often when it is annoying
156
7.2
Stop doing something annoying when someone tells you
128
3.2
To stop something suddenly before it is finished, for example a talk or relationship
124
8.1
Tell someone to stop doing something annoying
93
4.1
Stop doing something for a short time, for example at a point in a book
84
2.6
To stop work for a short time to rest or deal with personal matters
58
3.0
To end something so it no longer happens
48
4.2
To stop something that is happening or being given
45
3.2
Stop what you are doing to rest or do something different for a short time
45
6.9
To stop doing or talking about something because it annoys other people
40
3.1
To stop working for the rest of the day
36
3.9
To stop doing something because you cannot continue or feel you have done enough
34
5.6
To stop doing something that is not allowed or wanted
Antonyms
How Completely
Surface Forms
Morphology
lay + off
While 'lay' (to put) + 'off' (away/removed) can suggest removing someone from a role, the specific meaning 'to terminate employment' is a conventionalized, employment‑specific sense and not fully predictable from the parts. The phrase also has other senses (e.g., 'stop bothering someone'), creating ambiguity for a B1 learner who hasn't seen it, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Lay off comes from the simple image of putting something down and leaving it alone: to lay something off is to put it away. So when someone says lay off, they mean 'stop' doing that annoying or harmful action.