by-your-leave

[ bahy-yer-leev ]

noun
  1. an apology for not having sought permission.

Origin of by-your-leave

1
First recorded in 1910–15

Words Nearby by-your-leave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use by-your-leave in a sentence

  • The idea of going right into the pantry without a how-do-you-do 21 or a by-your-leave!

  • Two pompous, red-cheeked, red-necked individuals stepped forward, without so much as a "by-your-leave!"

    The Ghost Breaker | Charles Goddard
  • Without a by-your-leave, Judy snatched up one from the top and bound it around the poor gory leg.

  • What on earth possessed Humphrey and Susan to take you off to a house like that, without a with-your-leave or a by-your-leave?

    The Honour of the Clintons | Archibald Marshall
  • You come down here without a with-your-leave or a by-your-leave, and act as if you were master.

    The Honour of the Clintons | Archibald Marshall

British Dictionary definitions for by-your-leave

by-your-leave

noun
  1. a request for permission (esp in the phrase without so much as a by-your-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