Meaning & use
sick day
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A day when you stay home from work or school because you are ill, often one you are still paid for.
Grammar: Countable: take a sick day, two sick days.
Patterns
- take a sick day
- call in a sick day
I took a sick day because of my cold.
He used his last sick day on Friday.
Do you get paid for a sick day here?
nounusually pluralbusiness
An amount of paid time off that an employer gives each year for illness.
Grammar: Usually plural when speaking of an allowance: ten sick days a year.
Patterns
- have sick days
- run out of sick days
The company offers ten sick days a year.
She has run out of sick days.
Part-time workers also get sick days under the new policy.
nouncountableinformal
A day off taken for a reason other than illness, such as a break from stress, while claiming to be unwell.
Grammar: Informal and slightly humorous.
Patterns
- pull a sick day
He pulled a sick day to go to the concert.
Everyone needs a sick day now and then, even a fake one.
I'm taking a sick day for my sanity.
Word forms
| plural | sick days |
|---|
Common combinations
- take a sick day
- You should take a sick day and rest.
- call in a sick day
- She called in a sick day this morning.
- paid sick day
- A paid sick day lets staff recover without losing income.
- use a sick day
- I used a sick day to go to the dentist.
- unused sick days
- Unused sick days do not carry over.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sick leave
- Sick leave is the formal term for time away from work for illness, often covering a longer period.
- day off sick
- Day off sick is the common British phrase, with the same meaning.
- mental health day
- A mental health day is taken for emotional rest, which a sick day may or may not be.
- personal day
- A personal day can be taken for any reason, not just illness.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sick day or snow day?
sick day vs snow day
A snow day is when school or work closes because of snow, while a sick day is taken because of illness.
Practice
I woke up with a fever, so I called my manager and took a ___.
Choose one answer.
A sick day is a day off for illness. A snow day is a closure caused by snow, and a field day is a school outing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sick day”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.