- a period of time when you are allowed to be away from work for a holiday or for a special reason
- to take a month’s paid/unpaid leave
- How much annual leave do you get?
- on leave soldiers home on leave
Extra ExamplesTopics Permission and obligationb2, Working lifeb2- I still have some leave left this year.
- I still have some leave to use up.
- I'm saving all my leave to have a long holiday later in the year.
- She spent most of her leave with her family.
- He's on leave until the end of the month.
- I got an automated reply saying she was away on leave.
- One of the managers had gone on extended leave.
- She returned to work after a period of leave.
- The first six weeks of leave are paid and after that it is unpaid.
- He was granted six month's leave to care for his wife.
- When the war broke out all leave was cancelled.
- Benefits include 28 days' annual leave.
- He applied for study leave to write the book.
- Her husband is in the army and was due home on leave.
- The firm allowed her to take a month's unpaid leave.
- Find out what leave entitlements you have.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- annual
- paid
- unpaid
- …
- be entitled to
- get
- have
- …
- entitlement
- on leave
- (formal) official permission to do something
- without leave to be absent without leave
- leave to do something The court granted him leave to appeal against the sentence.
- They sought special leave (= leave for particular reasons that apply just to this case) to appeal.
- She asked for leave of absence (= permission to be away from work) to attend a funeral.
- He applied for leave to remain in the United Kingdom.
Extra ExamplesTopics Permission and obligationc1- They applied for asylum and were granted temporary leave to stay in the country.
- The school gave him leave of absence to play in the final.
- In May the officer went absent without leave.
- An application for leave to appeal must be made within four weeks.
- A single justice has power to grant leave to bring proceedings in certain cases.
- No application may be made without the leave of the court.
- The appeal can only be brought by leave of the trial judge.
- He asked for leave of absence from his job.
- soldiers who go absent without leave
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- special
- ask
- request
- give somebody
- …
- by somebody’s leave
- with somebody’s leave
- without somebody’s leave
- …
- absent without leave
- leave of absence
Word Originnoun Old English lēaf ‘permission’, of West Germanic origin; related to lief and love.
Idioms
See leave in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee leave in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbeg leave to do something
- (formal) to ask somebody for permission to do something
- I beg leave to add a few comments of my own.
by/with your leave
- (formal) with your permission
take French leave
- (British English) to leave work without asking permission first
take (your) leave (of somebody)
- (formal) to say goodbye
- With a nod and a smile, she took leave of her friends.
take leave of your senses
- (old-fashioned) to start behaving in a crazy way
without a by your leave; without so much as a by your leave
- (old-fashioned) without asking permission; rudely
- He walked straight in, without so much as a by your leave.
Check pronunciation:
leave