Meaning & use
hospital sick note
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A written statement from a doctor or hospital saying that a person is too ill to work or study.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a hospital sick note or hospital sick notes.
Patterns
- get a hospital sick note
- provide a hospital sick note
- a hospital sick note from a doctor
She missed two weeks of class and had to give her teacher a hospital sick note.
The company asked him to bring a hospital sick note when he returned to work.
Without a hospital sick note, his absence will be marked as unauthorized.
Word forms
| plural | hospital sick notes |
|---|
Common combinations
- get a hospital sick note
- You can get a hospital sick note from your doctor after an examination.
- provide a hospital sick note
- Employees must provide a hospital sick note for absences longer than three days.
- a valid hospital sick note
- The school only accepts a valid hospital sick note with a doctor's signature.
- request a hospital sick note
- He called the clinic to request a hospital sick note for his employer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- doctor's note
- More general; it can come from any doctor, not only a hospital.
- medical certificate
- More formal and often used for official or legal purposes.
- fit note
- British term for a note that may say you can work with changes, not just that you are sick.
Word family
- sick note noun
- A general note saying someone is ill; hospital sick note specifies it comes from a hospital.
- sick leave noun
- Time away from work because of illness, often supported by a sick note.
Commonly confused: hospital sick note or sick note? hospital sick note or prescription?
hospital sick note vs sick note
A sick note is any note about illness; a hospital sick note specifically comes from a hospital or its doctor.
hospital sick note vs prescription
A prescription is an order for medicine, while a hospital sick note confirms you are too ill to work or study.
Practice
After being in the hospital for a week, Maria needed to give her employer a ______ to explain her absence.
Choose one answer.
A hospital sick note is the written document that explains an absence. Sick leave is the time off, sick pay is the money you receive, and a sick day is a day of illness, so none of those fit the verb 'give' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hospital sick note”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.