layoff
Americannoun
-
the act of dismissing employees, especially temporarily.
-
a period of enforced unemployment or inactivity.
Usage
What’s the difference between layoff and furlough? A layoff is usually a permanent removal from a job. A furlough is a temporary release of a worker from their job, typically with the expectation that they will be asked to return. Both words can also be used as verbs. An organization can lay off employees or furlough them. The adjective forms are laid off and furloughed. The word layoff is typically used in the context of a company permanently letting go workers due to economic reasons (such as not being able to afford to pay them) as opposed to performance reasons (employees let go for poor performance are typically said to have been fired). A furlough typically involves an employer requiring an employee to stop working for a period of time during which they will not get paid—though furloughed workers sometimes keep their benefits, such as health insurance. Furloughs can happen during government shutdowns or when a company does not need certain employees for a certain period of time but expects to need them back after that period ends. Here’s an example of layoff and furlough used correctly in a sentence. Example: A furlough is not ideal, but at least it’s temporary—the company is doing it to avoid layoffs. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between layoff and furlough.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of layoff
1885–90, noun use of verb phrase lay off
Explanation
When a company informs a group of workers that their employment is terminated, it's called a layoff. In most cases, layoffs are a way for a business to save money. When the word layoff was coined in the 1880s, it meant "rest or relaxation." It evolved to be defined as "periodic respite from work," like a break for seasonal workers, and then "temporary release from employment." Employers began using it as a euphemism for "permanently firing people," a way to make it sound less harsh. Today when someone mentions layoffs, they're not temporary, unless they're specifically described that way.
Vocabulary lists containing layoff
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 23–March 1, 2025
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 20–January 26, 2024
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 13–April 19, 2024
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Not Williams’s layoff, not the comeback, not the Super Bowl-style fuss, and certainly not Williams’s decision to accept a wild card to return to singles at Wimbledon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
In the second year, the impact would be the layoff 17 to 35 officers, depending upon how the language of the board action is interpreted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Challenger Gray’s broad report on job losses, not all of them based in the U.S., showed the largest layoff total last month since 2020—97,000 layoffs.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Robinhood had announced a layoff of around 7% of its employees — about 150 people — in June 2023, as the company looked to adjust its workforce to trading volumes and better align team structures.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
Francie had been working two weeks when the layoff came.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
It has pressed ahead with layoffs in subsidiaries including in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where staff have walked out on strike over the job cuts in recent weeks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Many of the layoffs are happening in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Amazon announced broad corporate layoffs affecting about 16,000 employees in January as Chief Executive Andy Jassy pushed to streamline the company while accelerating AI investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The company, which lost market share to rivals like Apple Pay, underwent rounds of layoffs to cut costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Wage reductions and layoffs stoked unrest among workers nationwide.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.