Jump To:

• Sabbatical
  Sabbatical

  adjective

  of or pertaining or appropriate to the Sabbath.
• sabbatical
  sabbatical

  adjective

  denoting a period of leave granted to university staff, teachers, etc, esp approximately every seventh year

Sabbatical

American  

[suh-bat-i-kuhl] / səˈbæt ɪ kəl /

Sometimes Sabbatic

adjective

1. of or pertaining or appropriate to the Sabbath.

2. (lowercase) of or relating to a sabbatical year.

3. (lowercase) bringing a period of rest.

---

noun

1. (lowercase) sabbatical year.

2. (lowercase) any extended period of leave from one's customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.

sabbatical ¹ British  

/ səˈbætɪkəl /

adjective

1. denoting a period of leave granted to university staff, teachers, etc, esp approximately every seventh year

   a sabbatical year

   sabbatical leave

2. denoting a post that renders the holder eligible for such leave

---

noun

1. any sabbatical period

Sabbatical ² British  

/ səˈbætɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or appropriate to the Sabbath as a day of rest and religious observance

---

noun

1. short for sabbatical year

Other Word Forms

• Sabbaticalness
  noun
• non-Sabbatic
  adjective
• non-Sabbatical
  adjective
• Sabbatically
  adverb
• non-Sabbatically
  adverb

---

Etymology

Origin of Sabbatical

First recorded in 1605–15; equivalent to Greek sabbatikós (from sábbat(on) Sabbath + -ikos -ic ) + -al ¹

---

Explanation

If your job entitles you, you probably take a sabbatical every seven years, which means you get a year of paid leave to do whatever you want to further your understanding of the world. The word sabbatical, which can be a noun or an adjective, comes from the Greek word sabatikos, which means “of the Sabbath,” the day of rest that happens every seventh day. Most teaching jobs come with the promise of a sabbatical, which is a year of not having to teach, though you still get paid. During your sabbatical, you usually are expected to do research and perhaps write a book — in other words, keep working.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sabbatical sabbatical

She is among leaders of the Sabbatical Project, which aims to create “a more humane relationship with work” by encouraging extended leaves.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

Portions of the work were supported by a Research Sabbatical grant to Gilmore from Research to Prevent Blindness to explore the origins of antibiotic resistance.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 29, 2024

Research by DJ DiDonna, founder of the Sabbatical Project and a senior lecturer at Harvard, found that 80 percent of people who take sabbaticals returned to their company refreshed.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2023

Sabbatical haze, she adds, her explanation these days for everything.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 26, 2019

These words speak of the time when one did not begin the work on the eve of the Sabbatical year.

From Hebrew Literature by Epiphanius Wilson

It was the first trophy of his career, and Trippier returned to the Premier League after his Spanish sabbatical renewed, refreshed and ready to enjoy a successful spell at Newcastle.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The project took shape after Lepland arrived at Caltech for a sabbatical.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

She took a postpresidential sabbatical for a year, and this month started teaching her first course since her time as an administrator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

“If you’re thinking of an early retirement — or a mini-retirement or sabbatical — you don’t want all your money locked up in your employer plan,” Pumphrey said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

When the couple and their daughter had returned from their sabbatical, Pearl had not even been able to look at the girl, tanned and wiry and too tall now for those dresses in the closet.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• furlough
• leave of absence
• recess
• time off

---