layer
noun [ C ]
uk/leɪər/ us HR
the group of employees or managers at a particular level of responsibility in an organization:
layer of bureaucracy/management She argued that a joint governing board was a needless layer of bureaucracy.
We've cut the number of management layers from five to three.
a thin sheet of a substance on top of a surface, or a level of material that is different from the material on either side:
layer of paint/soil/plastic, etc. The case was made of layers of plastic, paint, and titanium.
a protective/waterproof/insulating layer
one of several related ways of thinking or doing something:
a layer of complexity/meaning
See also
marzipan layer