French leave

American

[french leev] / ˈfrɛntʃ ˈliv /

noun

Sometimes Offensive. a departure without saying goodbye, asking permission, or giving notice.

During the Civil War, many men deserted or took French leave.
Early in the wedding reception I had to take French leave to address a family crisis.

French leave British

noun

an unauthorized or unannounced absence or departure

"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

Etymology

Origin of French leave

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

My efforts at French leave me at once inert and exhausted, as though I’ve been dog-paddling in a pool of standing water.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 1, 2016

Spain sent Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to make the French leave Florida.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

Furious, Michelangelo took French leave of Rome, and it was seven months before he was reconciled.

From Time Magazine Archive

The uproar began when Paris discovered that the gunboats and their Israeli crews had taken French leave of their fitting-out berths in Cherbourg.

From Time Magazine Archive

Therefore, having paid her parting compliments to Mrs. Potts and the Montagues, she walked all round the room, curtsying to every body and shaking hands, and telling them she had come to take French leave.

From Pencil Sketches or, Outlines of Character and Manners by Leslie, Eliza

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023