take off — take time away from work
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
To spend time away from work or school, usually for rest or personal reasons.
Say it like a native
Textbook I intend to take a period of leave from my employment.
Native I'm going to take some time off work.
'Take time off' is the everyday phrase; 'take a period of leave from my employment' is HR-formal.
Pattern: take (time) off
In use
- I'm going to take off next Friday to visit my family.work
- Many people take time off work to travel or spend time with their families.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I took off two days for the wedding.
✓ I took two days off for the wedding. / I took two days off work.
More natural as 'take [time] off (work)' — the amount sits between 'take' and 'off'.
Common collocations
take + time + off— a day off, the week off, time off, some time off
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'quit', which means to stop working completely.
Related
- take off (plane leaves the ground) — Another meaning of 'take off' is 'plane leaves the ground'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.