Dictionary.com

ticket of leave

or ticket-of-leave

Save This Word!

noun, plural tickets of leave.British.
(formerly) a permit allowing a convict to leave prison, under certain restrictions, and go to work before having served a full term, somewhat similar to a certificate of parole.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of ticket of leave

First recorded in 1725–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ticket of leave in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ticket of leave

ticket of leave

noun
(formerly in Britain) a permit allowing a convict (ticket-of-leave man) to leave prison, after serving only part of his sentence, with certain restrictions placed on him
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
FEEDBACK