take leave

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English

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Verb

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take leave (third-person singular simple present takes leave, present participle taking leave, simple past took leave, past participle taken leave)

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see take,‎ leave.
    • 2011 March, W James Antle III, “Front-runner Failure”, in American Spectator, volume 44, number 2, page 12:
      Romney had already taken leave from Bain Capital by the time the American Pad & Paper layoffs took place.
  2. (often with of) To depart.
    • 1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 343:
      So after learning a great deal about iron founding and much more about pike fishing, one regretfully took leave of a shop full of kindly characters and proceeded to a worse lot of odours in the brass foundry.
    • 1990 August, Linda Abbott with Marsha Frey, “Fatal diplomacy”, in History Today, volume 40, number 8, page 10:
      Rincon had taken leave of the king in early May
    • 1995 October 12, Furman Bisher, “Little fanfare for Cincinnati”, in Atlanta Journal Constitution:
      Those who hadn't already taken leave at Javier Lopez's last time up, turned for the exits, not taking the time to cast one last signature boo.
    • 1999 Spring, Judith Grossman, “How Aliens Think.”, in Ploughshares, volume 25, number 1, page 146:
      Lili takes leave with a kiss, and says hi to a young man sitting alone, sulking on a bench outside. / That's Jeannie's boyfriend

Derived terms

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