Meaning

• (chiefly US) (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.

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

• To cease, quit, stop (doing something).

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

• To stop bothering, teasing, or pestering someone; to leave (someone) alone.

  "I told him to lay off me but he wouldn't stop."

• (artisanal terminology) 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.

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

• To plan out (a navigational course) using a chart.