shore leave

American

noun

Navy.

permission to spend time ashore, usually 48 hours or more, granted a member of a ship's company.
the time spent ashore during such leave.

shore leave British

noun

permission to go ashore Compare liberty
time spent ashore during leave

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shore leave

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Normally arrival in a new port means loading and unloading cargo, shore leave, and ordering provisions.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025

The Navy was big business for Long Beach, and for the Pike, where thousands of Navy “gobs” stationed here spent some of their shore leave and their earnings.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2025

An Israeli official said Ankara had submitted a preliminary request for the crew to disembark on shore leave.

From Reuters • Sep. 4, 2022

And, of course, the service members take advantage of their shore leave to explore the city’s many diversions.

From New York Times • May 28, 2022

The old man made his way through the handcarts and fishmongers fresh from the sea, stubbing his toes on the cobbles and bumping into sailors on shore leave.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023