lay off

1. (US, idiomatic, transitive)(of an employer) To dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume or through no fault of the worker, often with a severance package.

   entlassen

   увольнятьuvolʹnjatʹ

2. (transitive)To place all or part of a bet with another bookmaker in order to reduce risk.

3. (idiomatic, transitive)To cease, quit, stop (doing something).

   Lay off the singing, will you! I'm trying to study.

   When are you gonna lay off smoking?

4. (idiomatic, intransitive, transitive)To stop bothering, teasing, or pestering someone; to leave (someone) alone.

   Just lay off, okay! I've had enough!

   Things have been better since the boss has been laying off a little.

5. (ambitransitive)In painting, to apply gentle strokes to smooth a wet coat of paint so as to remove visible roller- or brush-marks, commonly using a dry brush; a similar technique, but using a loaded laying-off brush, may produce a smooth coat of paint when using a roller or the usual brush techniques would leave marks.

   At any pro paint shop ask for laying off brushes. These are natural bristle, wide, thin brushes designed for tipping off, not for holding a paint load. (Sourced from a web forum exchange)

   He shows me how to lay off the paint — and moves his paintbrush across the section he had already painted, again and again.

6. (transitive)To plan out (a navigational course) using a chart.

1. I've been laid off.

   Мене звільнили.

   deIch wurde entlassen.

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2. I was laid off.

   Мене скоротили.

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3. I got laid off yesterday.

   Мене вчора звільнили.

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4. Many workers got laid off.

   Багатьох робітників звільнили.

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5. We haven't laid off any employees yet.

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irregular · Lesson

• lay offвміти, умітиTo dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume or through no fault of the worker, often with a severance package.
• lay outвстановити, встановлюватиTo expend or contribute money to an expense or purchase.
• lay inзберігатиTo put (something) aside for future use.
• lay downзробити, робитиTo give up, surrender, or yield (e.g. a weapon), usually by placing it on the ground.
• lay overнакласти, накладатиTo make an intermediary stop somewhere.
• lay asideврятувати, рятуватиTo reserve (something, especially money) for future use; to save as a backup.
• lay upTo store; to put by.
• lay onTo provide (food or drinks) for free.