Words / B1

SIKN-oht/ˈsɪk nəʊt/

A sick note (id: sick-note) is a note from a doctor or parent explaining absence through illness (UK). An absence email may be extra; a prescription is for medicine. Attendance: a sick note still goes to the office; a text from a friend is not authorised absence.

Meaning

A note from a doctor or parent explaining absence through illness (UK).

Examples

• “A sick note still goes to attendance; a text from a friend is not authorised absence.”
• “A sick-note for PE still needs the date; feeling tired is not a blanket excuse for the term.”

Good to know

a sick note (UK). Contrast: an absence email / a prescription. Attendance / PE. Countable notes. Mix-up: sick can mean ill or vomit; a sick note is the absence letter. Close: a fit note (GP).

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