Leave (verb): to go away from a place or person; to stop doing something or give it up; to allow something to remain in a particular state; to give property or money to someone after your death.
Leave (noun): an officially permitted period of absence from work or duty, such as maternity leave or annual leave.
What Does Leave Mean?
Leave is one of the most frequently used verbs in English and one of the most versatile. It comes from Old English læfan, meaning "to allow to remain" or "to let stay", from Proto-Germanic *laibijana. The noun sense of leave meaning "permission" or "absence from duty" descends from a separate Old English root, leaf (permission), related to the German Erlaubnis. By Middle English, both strands had merged under the same spelling.
As a verb, leave covers a remarkable range of everyday situations: departing from a place ("leave the house"), abandoning an activity or relationship ("leave a job", "leave someone"), causing a state to remain ("leave the light on"), handing something over ("leave a message"), or bequeathing property ("leave money to a charity"). This breadth makes it one of the first verbs learners encounter and one of the last they fully master.
As a noun, leave appears almost exclusively in formal and workplace contexts. British English uses annual leave where American English often says vacation. Other common collocations include sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, and compassionate leave.
Key grammar point: the past tense and past participle of leave is left — an irregular form that learners frequently get wrong by saying "leaved".
Example Sentences by Level
| Sentence | Level / Usage note |
|---|---|
| I always leave home at eight o'clock in the morning. | A2 — leave + place noun, daily routine |
| She left a comment on each student's essay to guide their revision. | B1 — leave + object, professional context |
| He decided to leave his job and start his own business. | B1 — leave = give up / abandon an activity |
| The accident left her with lasting difficulties that affected her confidence. | B2 — leave + object + complement, result sense |
| The report left several critical questions unresolved, prompting the committee to commission further research. | C1 — leave + object + past participle, formal written register |
Collocations
Strong collocations are the fastest way to sound natural with leave. Learn these combinations as fixed phrases.
| Collocation | Meaning / Example |
|---|---|
| leave a message | Record or write something for someone to receive later. Please leave a message after the beep. |
| leave behind | Fail to take something with you; also, to surpass others. She left her umbrella behind on the train. |
| leave out | Omit or not include. You left out the most important detail. |
| take leave | Formally say goodbye; also, to begin a period of absence. He took leave of his colleagues before moving abroad. |
| annual leave | Holiday entitlement from an employer. She used her remaining annual leave in December. |
| maternity / paternity leave | Authorised absence following the birth of a child. He took two weeks of paternity leave. |
| sick leave | Authorised absence due to illness. The doctor signed her off on sick leave. |
| leave to chance | Not plan or control something; accept whatever happens. Don't leave your revision to chance before the exam. |
| leave someone in charge | Give responsibility to someone while you are away. She left her deputy in charge of the project. |
| leave a lasting impression | Have a permanent effect on someone's memory or feelings. His speech left a lasting impression on the audience. |
Usage Notes
Key Points for Learners
- Irregular verb: leave → left → left. Never use "leaved" as a past tense.
- Leave vs. go: Leave focuses on departing from somewhere; go focuses on moving towards somewhere. Compare: She left the office (focus on origin) vs. She went to a meeting (focus on destination).
- Leave vs. let: Both can mean "allow something to remain", but they are used differently. Use leave when no further action is implied: Leave the soup to simmer. Use let when giving permission for an action: Let me know when you arrive.
- Leave + object + adjective: English commonly uses this pattern to describe a resulting state: Leave the window open. / Leave it untouched. / The news left him speechless.
- Noun use: When leave is a noun, it is usually uncountable: She is on leave (not "on a leave"). The exception is fixed phrases: take one's leave.
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For
She leaved the room without saying goodbye.
She left the room without saying goodbye. (leave is irregular: left / left)
He left to his hometown last summer.
He left for his hometown last summer. (use for, not to, with leave when indicating a destination)
Can you let the light on while I'm out?
Can you leave the light on while I'm out? (allow something to remain in a state = leave, not let)
I am in leave this week.
I am on leave this week. (the correct preposition with the noun leave is on)
Etymology
The verb leave descends from Old English læfan ("to cause to remain, to let stay"), which is cognate with Old High German leiben and traces back to Proto-Germanic *laibijanan. The underlying root is connected to an idea of "what is left behind" — related to Old English laf (a relic, remainder), which also gives us the word loaf (originally something left over or kneaded). The noun sense of leave (permission, absence) comes from Old English leaf meaning "permission" or "approval", related to lief (dear, willing) and ultimately to the Proto-Germanic root meaning "to like or love". Both strands converged in written form during Middle English, producing the single modern word with its two distinct semantic branches.