Request Leave: Usage, Meaning & Examples

Meaning 1：ask for time off (Request leave)

Request leave 🔊

/rɪˈkwest liːv/

v.phr.

To ask for permission from your boss or teacher to be away from work or school for a period of time.

Person requesting leave via online form in office

ask for time off 🔊

➕

/æsk fɔːr taɪm ɒf/

v.phr.

To formally ask a supervisor or authority figure for permission to be absent from work or school for a specific period.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Request from Latin 'requaerere' (to seek) + leave from Old English 'lēaf' (permission).

💡 Mnemonic

Think: 'request' is asking, 'leave' is permission to be away.

📖 Example

I need to request leave tomorrow because I have a bad cold and should see a doctor. 🔊 I need to request leave tomorrow because I have a bad cold and should see a doctor.

🔗 Collocations

request leave from work – to ask for time off from your job

submit a leave request – to formally file a request for absence

approve leave request – to give permission for the requested absence

🔄 Synonyms

ask for time off (v.phr.) – to request a break from duties

apply for leave (v.phr.) – to formally submit a request for absence

take leave (v.phr.) – to go on a period of authorized absence

🚫 Antonyms

report to work (v.phr.) – to attend work as scheduled

attend (v.) – to be present at work or school

🌱 Derivatives

leave request (n.) – the document or form used to request time off

📖 Cultural Story

Originates from formal bureaucratic language; commonly used in modern workplaces and schools to document absence requests.