collocation · neutral
sick leave
/sɪk liːv/SICK·leave
Band 5-6speakingtask2
time off from work because of illness
Examples
“After the operation, she took a fortnight of sick leave.”
“He was on sick leave last month and his colleagues covered his tasks.”
“Companies usually require a medical certificate for long periods of sick leave.”
Band 8 sentence
“I had to take two weeks' sick leave after the operation so I could recover fully before returning to work.”
Collocations
- take sick leave
- be on sick leave
Word family
sick leave noun
Common mistakes
have a sick leave→take sick leave / be on sick leave
Say it for a higher band
5take time off→6have a sick day→7+sick leave
Synonyms
medical leave
Easily confused
medical leave
“She was on medical leave for three weeks after the surgery.”
sick day
“He took a sick day because he had a bad cold.”
Related words
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In Work & Career
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