lay off vs cease

lay off is not a noun while cease is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
lay off	No	No	Yes	No
cease	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, lay off and cease are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of lay off include discontinue, give up, quit, stop.

lay off (noun)	cease (noun)
	(`cease' is a noun only in the phrase `without cease') end

lay off (verb)	cease (verb)
dismiss, usually for economic reasons	put an end to a state or an activity
put an end to a state or an activity	have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical