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Glite Dictionary
to take leave

to take leave

5 3.9
Say goodbye to people and go away from a place politely
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk liːv/
  • Formal
: despedirse
  • Then, taking leave of the other customers as if he were their host or their guest, he walks out to the car.
  • want to take leave
  • let us take leave
  • take leave now

A number of Google employees took leave from Google and went to work on the ACA.

Examples

  • This is Bermann's cue to take leave of Kamal, who is staying behind.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • He accepted the check and took leave of them.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I thought you would not mind my taking leave of you.

    Great Expectations (1946)

  • But before you take leave, it might be well if you thanked her for saving your life.

    The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

  • I hope you'll forgive my rudeness in taking leave of you.

    Citizen Kane (1941)

  • Alm hesitates at a junction, clearly about to take leave of Madox.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Before we go our separate ways, let us take leave of our brother Michael.

  • Then it is time for me to take leave of you, my students.

  • Shortly before midnight, the party took leave of the banquet and walked across the street to the library annex.

Synonyms

to go away
vsto take leave
709 1.0

To leave a place or person and go somewhere else

is a formal announced goodbye rather than a casual departure
to say goodbye
vsto take leave
562 1.0

To tell someone you are leaving and wish them well

adds a formal announced leaving act to that spoken wish
to depart
vsto take leave
176 1.3

To leave a place to start a journey

stresses formally saying goodbye before going rather than just moving on
to bow out
vsto take leave
20 4.9

To stop doing a job or role politely

focuses on formal farewell and exiting a place rather than ending roles
to say farewell
vsto take leave
  • Formal
12 3.8

To tell someone goodbye before you leave, often in a formal or sad way

adds the action of going away after the spoken words
to take her leave
vsto take leave
  • Formal
1 7.7

To say goodbye and leave politely

is the general formal expression not limited to women

Antonyms

to stay
∞ 1.0

To remain in one place and not leave

to arrive
∞ 1.0

To reach a place, especially at the end of a journey

How Formal

to take leave
  • Formal
5 3.9
to depart
176 1.3
to leave
∞ 1.0
to say goodbye
562 1.0

Surface Forms

take leave infinitive
taking leave present participle
takes leave third person singular
took leave past
taken leave past participle

Morphology

take + leave

The meaning is directly compositional: combining 'take' (assume/accept) with the noun 'leave' (an instance of departure or permission to depart) yields 'to take leave' = to leave or formally say goodbye. This is a standard English noun+verb collocation pattern (take + noun) and has clear parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase take leave comes from the old sense of leave meaning permission. Imagine a guest asking the host for permission and then taking that leave before walking away, a polite act of saying goodbye. That's why take leave now means 'to formally say goodbye and leave'.