Break
Lay off
Lay off verb - To bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end.
Usage example: you need to lay off eating those jelly doughnuts, or you'll end up looking like one
Both terms in one sentence
- They go and make everything super-ornate to please the "Machine Spirit" who animates their technology and think that if they lay off the pomp, everything will break.
Source: Cool, but Inefficient
Cite this Source
Lay off and Break. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/break/lay_off
Break & Lay off. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/break/lay_off>.
Lay off or Break. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/break/lay_off.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "break" and "lay off" have occurred on timeline