lay off — stop consuming
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+informaloccasional
To stop using, eating, drinking, or taking something, especially because it is unhealthy or excessive.
Say it like a native
Textbook You should reduce your consumption of caffeine.
Native You should lay off the coffee.
'Lay off (the X)' is the casual way to say cut something out. 'Reduce your consumption of' is clinical.
Pattern: lay off + noun (uncountable or plural)
In use
- My doctor told me to lay off the caffeine for a while if I want to sleep better.health
- Many people find it difficult to lay off junk food, even when they know it is detrimental to their health.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ You should lay off from sugar.
✓ You should lay off the sugar.
'Lay off THE + thing' (= cut down on it) — no 'from'.
Common collocations
lay off the— the booze, the salt, the cigarettes, the sweets
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B2 sense ('stop employing'), this sense is not about jobs or work, but about stopping the consumption of something. It is also different from the B1 sense ('stop doing something annoying'), as it refers specifically to substances or habits, not actions that annoy others.
Related
- lay off (stop employing) — 'lay off' also has the more basic meaning 'stop employing'; this is the advanced sense.