maternity leave

American

noun

a leave of absence for an expectant or new mother for the birth and care of the baby.

maternity leave British

noun

a period of paid absence from work, in Britain currently six months, to which a woman is legally entitled during the months immediately before and after childbirth

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

maternity leaves

plural

Etymology

Origin of maternity leave

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

See Examples For:

maternity leave

Lucy Kells is a mum of two in east Belfast on maternity leave.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

"I was on maternity leave with my son and just wanted something to occupy my brain a bit, so I took the plunge," she told BBC Radio Solent.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

To minimize conflict concerns, Mare offhandedly volunteers to temporarily work at the Cincinnati Chronicle, the Teller’s sister paper, while some of its staff members are on maternity leave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

I’d rather stay at home and enjoy my baby’s first year, but maternity leave is so short.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

“So what if your maternity leave went on for thirteen years longer than planned?”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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