Definitions
1.verb(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.
2.verb(of a bookmaker) To place all or part of a bet with another bookmaker in order to reduce risk.
3.verbTo cease, quit, stop (doing something)."Lay off the singing, will you! I'm trying to study."
4.verbTo stop bothering, teasing, or pestering someone; to leave (someone) alone."I told him to lay off me but he wouldn't stop."
5.verb(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."
6.verbTo plan out (a navigational course) using a chart.