let someone go
End their position
Let someone go is a euphemism for firing or laying off an employee: The company let three hundred workers go last quarter.
The phrase softens the action by framing termination as release rather than rejection.
In its literal sense, to let someone go is simply to release them from physical restraint or allow them to leave: The kidnapper let the hostages go.
- lay offTerminate employment temporarily
- dismissSend away or reject
- throw outDispose of unwanted items
- cut looseRelease from restraint
- dischargeRelease of substance outward
fire · walking papers · marching orders · sever · ax · sack · termination · release · redundancy · forgiveness · disband · healing · emancipation · let it go · can · reconciliation · emotional release · resignation