leave-taking
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of leave-taking
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75
Explanation
When you've come to the end of a weekend with your best friends, it's time for a leave-taking, or time to say goodbye. All good things come to an end, and when that happens, you can describe it as a leave-taking. Hugging your visitors goodbye, waving as their car departs — these are all parts of leave-taking. It can be simple and polite, like when you say goodbye to co-workers at the end of the day, or a more poignant leave-taking, like when you leave your entire family to travel in Africa for a year.
Vocabulary lists containing leave-taking
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.
“This is because parental leave policies are associated with an increase in leave-taking and childbearing, which leads to lost labor or increased health care costs for companies.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Our first clue that this leave-taking lies somewhere between planned and spontaneous is in Martin’s gently charged response in answer to his daughter’s initial confusion: What would you take if the house were on fire?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The clip did not directly address his leave-taking from Fox or the reasons for it.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
“She was as radiant and knowledgeable and fascinated about politics as ever I remember,” Mr. Johnson said of their leave-taking.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
And it was this leave-taking that came to stand, in Florence’s latter days, and with many another witness, at her bedside.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
