動詞 lay off:

1. put an end to a state or an activity
   同義詞：discontinue, stop, cease, give up, quit, lay off
2. dismiss, usually for economic reasons
   同義詞：furlough, lay off

形容詞 laid off:

1. having lost your job
   同義詞：discharged, dismissed, fired, laid-off, pink-slipped

1. Meanwhile, the company laid off another2,500 nonunion workers yesterday after sending an initial7,000 packing on Monday ...
   這時，在周一初步解雇7000人以后，公司昨天又遣散了2500名未參加工會的工人 ... 。
2. Jimmy was laid off. But the fell on his feet and found a better job very soon.
   吉米被解雇了。不過他逢兇化吉，很快便找到了更理想的工作。
3. They were laid off because of the lack of new orders.
   由於沒有新的定貨，他們遭暫時解雇。
4. The factory has laid off workers because of the drop in sales.
   因?yàn)殇N售額減少，工廠解雇了一批工人。