Phrase guide

by your leave

noun · prep_phrase · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Request for permission.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1897, Shanghai Mercury, Shanghai by Night and Day: Illustrated by 23 Reproductions from Photographs. Vol. I. The natives have gathered on the top of every grave mound near by and though many resent the riding over their fields without a so much as a 'By your leave' [...]
  • 1946, Konstantin Trenev, In a Cossack Village, and Other Stories He picked flowers without so much as a 'by your leave.'
  • 1986, Judith A. Jance, Trial by Fury 'To a place you've broken into without so much as a by-your-leave, to say nothing of a search warrant?'

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

prep_phrase

Meaning 2

With your permission.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.