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TOEIC Vocabulary
Welcome to the TOEIC Vocabulary Section. Here, you can find common TOEIC vocabulary words. We have categorized them based on common topics found in the TOEIC exam. Under each category, words and phrases are listed in alphabetical order. The sentences and explanations in our vocabulary lessons will not only familiarize you with the usage of the words but also teach you how to use them effectively.

TOEIC Vocabulary - work shift

In this article, you will learn about TOEIC vocabulary words related to work shift topic. A good command of English vocabulary is extremely important in scoring well on all sections of the TOEIC. We strongly recommend that you study these vocabulary words to prepare for the TOEIC exam. While studying vocabulary words, you should write the words in a notebook, say the words and sentences many times, and try to create your own setences using the words.

TOEIC 600

absent

/ˈæb.sənt/ play_circle_filled

Absent means not there.  You will often see the phrase "absent from work or school".  Here are some example sentences:

  • Alex has been absent from work for three days now.
  • If you are absent from work for one day, your perfect attendance bonuses will be gone.
  • You have been absent from school for two days.
  • The purpose of doing the roll call is to check if any students are absent.
  • James is very absent-minded and is always forgetting where he has put things.
  • I am pretty absent-minded. It is easier for me to forget where I put my car keys and glasses.
TOEIC 600

call in sick

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call in sick = call employer to say you are sick.

  • I think you should call in sick tomorrow.
  • Bob called in sick, so I need someone to fill in.
  • Angela won't be coming in today. She called in sick. She told me she was not feeling well.
  • I was up all night throwing up and I feel terrible right now. I think I might need to call in sick.

W: How come Mark isn't present in the weekly meeting today? 

M: He's taking a couple of days off. I heard from his project manager that he called in sick yesterday. 

TOEIC 600

get off work

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To get off work is to leave work with permission, usually at the end of the day。Another way to say "I get off work" is "I am off".

  • What time do you get off work today?
  • Joe got off work early today to pick up his kids.
  • We usually get off work late on Wednesday.
  • I got off work early, so I thought I'd make dinner for both of us.
  • Hey, I just left work. Do you need me to drop by the supermarket to buy some groceries?
  • I remember you always used to leave the office at this time on Fridays.
  • I am off at 6 p.m. today.
TOEIC 600

leave

/liːv/ play_circle_filled

Leave as a verb

 

1. Leave = go away from somethere (verb)

  • I'll be leaving at six o'clock tomorrow morning.
  • The bus left half an hour ago but another will be arriving soon.
  • The train leaves in two minutes.
  • You must give the company two weeks' notice before leaving.
  • We left the party early, so we didn't know what happened afterward. 
  • He left home after graduating from high school.
  • Jonathan left his job and went back to school.
  • He's going to be leaving the company soon and starting his own business.

Leave for somewhere

  • I have to leave for a business seminar in Jersey City at 1 P.M.
  • Can we leave our luggage at the hotel until it is time to leave for the airport?
  • The train left from Taichung for Taipei an hour ago.

2. Leave = not take something or someone with you when you go, either intentionally or by accident  (verb)

  • Heather suddenly remembered she had left her keys in the car.
  • Please leave the package by the door.
  • We left a turkey (roasting) in the oven.
  • left the children watching television.

3. Leave = keep

  • I'll have to go back—I think I've left the iron on.
  • left the window open when I left home.
  • Can you leave the door unlocked for me?
  • He left the engine running.

 

Leave as a noun

 

Leave = time allowed away from work for a holiday or illness

 

Sick leave = a period of time that a worker is allowed to be away from work because they are ill

Personal leave = a period of time that a worker is allowed to be away from work because of personal reasons

Annual leave = a paid number of days each year that an employee is allowed to be away from work

Maternity leave = a period of time that a woman is legally allowed to be absent from work before and after she gives birth.

Paternity leave = a period of time that a father is legally allowed to be absent from work before and after the birth of his child.

Funeral leave = a period of time that an employee is allowed to be away from work because of their family's death

 

Take paternity/maternity/sick leave = be on paternity/maternity/sick leave

  • I'm not feeling well. I'd like to take sick leave this afternoon.
  • The doctor insisted that he take sick leave for another week.
  • For workers who are unable to work because they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have to self-isolate, paid sick leave can provide some income continuity.
  • She's due next month, so she will start taking maternity leave.
  • I will be on maternity leave for a month. Emily will fill in for me.
  • I'd like to take a personal leave on May 11.
  • How many days of annual leave do you have in your country?
  • In Austria, everyone has five weeks of annual leave including 13 days of national holidays.

Thank you for contacting me, but unfortunately, I am on annual leave from October 1 to October 4. I will return on October 5 and will be happy to assist you with any issues you might have. In the meantime, I will not be able to check my mailbox regularly until I return.

 

A: I will be on paternity leave for a month.

B: I will get John to take your shift.

 

A: How come I didn't see you last week?

B: I was on personal leave last Monday.

TOEIC 600

sick leave

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Sick leave = a period of time that a worker is allowed to be away from work because they are ill

  • I'm not feeling well. I'd like to take sick leave this afternoon.
  • The doctor insisted that he take sick leave for another week.
  • For workers who are unable to work because they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have to self-isolate, paid sick leave can provide some income continuity.
TOEIC 800

absence

/ab-sence/ [ae1.b.s.ah0.n.s] play_circle_filled

Absence is the state of not being someplace, like school. It can also refer to the amount of time something has been or plans to be gone. We most commonly think of absence as the opposite of present in places like school, but really it can refer to anything that's missing or something that's lacking. Darkness is an absence of light, and cold is an absence of heat.

Example sentences of using the word absence to refer to the amount of time something has been or plans to be gone:

  • Mary is going to be on maternity leave next month. Who do you think will take her place during her absence?
  • I'm deputizing for the director during his absence.
  • She has so many absences from work this year. I think the boss is thinking about letting her go.
  • Every workplace should have its own absence policy. 

 

Please note that when someone gets the permission from their boss to be away from a job for a period of time; it is called leave of absence. The phrase leave of absence is used with words such as granted or given. For example:

  • ​I am going to ask for a two-day leave of absence to attend my brother's wedding.
  • Joseph took a two-month leave of absence to finish his dissertation.

 

Let's look at some example sentences where the word absence is used to show that something is missing or something that's lacking.

  • The absence of oxygen in the water is causing the fish to die. 
  • A lot of young people moved out of the city. In the absence of young talents, many tech companies have no choice but to outsource to India. 
  • In the absence of an agreement, the court will decide according to the child's best interests. 

 

 

TOEIC 800

cover someone's shift

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Fill in for someone = Cover for someone = Cover someone's shift = Take someone's shift

  • I will be on paternity leave for three months. Mark will fill in for me.
  • Thank you for covering for me during my recent illness. It was great knowing that you had my back and helped my recovery. I am so fortunate to have a colleague like you. 
  • I promised Peggy I would cover her shift tonight.
  • Who wants to take my shift tomorrow?
  • If you're not doing anything special tomorrow night, I need someone to take my shift. Please?

Jeff? Sorry I missed you. I've just called the office to give an excuse. I have to take a personal leave today. It's a family emergency. Could you cover for me? I asked Nancy, but it turns out she's off today, too. Let me treat you to a nice dinner sometime next week. Alright? Thanks a million.

TOEIC 800

take someone's shift

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Fill in for someone = Cover for someone = Cover someone's shift = Take someone's shift

  • I will be on paternity leave for three months. Mark will fill in for me.
  • Thank you for covering for me during my recent illness. It was great knowing that you had my back and helped my recovery. I am so fortunate to have a colleague like you. 
  • I promised Peggy I would cover her shift tonight.
  • Who wants to take my shift tomorrow?
  • If you're not doing anything special tomorrow night, I need someone to take my shift. Please?

Jeff? Sorry I missed you. I've just called the office to give an excuse. I have to take a personal leave today. It's a family emergency. Could you cover for me? I asked Nancy, but it turns out she's off today, too. Let me treat you to a nice dinner sometime next week. Alright? Thanks a million.

TOEIC 900

fill a vacancy

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Fill someone's position = Fill a vacant position = Fill a vacancy 

  • We have found an adequate candidate to fill in Steve's position in terms of skills and availability.
  • The company has a process for filling vacant positions promptly to avoid disruption to operations.
  • Harvey was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Burnaby City Council.
  • Cowin has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the court.
  • The Conservatives are expected to lose another vote next week in a local election to fill a vacancy.

M: Are we going to use a recruitment agency to fill the new position?

 

W: No, I don't think we need to use headhunters. There are so many Internet job boards out there that I think we can find good candidates just by posting job ads on those boards.

 

M:  I thought most of the job boards charge a listing fee.

 

W: Well. Headhunters also charge a large commission. Besides, I found a few job boards that don't charge a listing fee so there's no harm in trying.

TOEIC 900

fill in for

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Fill in for someone = Cover for someone = Cover someone's shift = Take someone's shift

  • I will be on paternity leave for three months. Mark will fill in for me.
  • Thank you for covering for me during my recent illness. It was great knowing that you had my back and helped my recovery. I am so fortunate to have a colleague like you. 
  • I promised Peggy I would cover her shift tonight.
  • Who wants to take my shift tomorrow?

Jeff? Sorry I missed you. I've just called the office to give an excuse. I have to take a personal leave today. It's a family emergency. Could you cover for me? I asked Nancy, but it turns out she's off today, too. Let me treat you to a nice dinner sometime next week. Alright? Thanks a million.

TOEIC 900

fill someone's position

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Fill someone's position = Fill a vacant position Fill a vacancy 

  • We have found an adequate candidate to fill in Steve's position in terms of skills and availability.
  • The company has a process for filling vacant positions promptly to avoid disruption to operations.
  • Harvey was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Burnaby City Council.
  • Cowin has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the court.
  • The Conservatives are expected to lose another vote next week in a local election to fill a vacancy.

M: Are we going to use a recruitment agency to fill the new position?

 

W: No, I don't think we need to use headhunters. There are so many Internet job boards out there that I think we can find good candidates just by posting job ads on those boards.

 

M:  I thought most of the job boards charge a listing fee.

 

W: Well. Headhunters also charge a large commission. Besides, I found a few job boards that don't charge a listing fee so there's no harm in trying.

TOEIC 900

maternity leave

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Maternity leave = a period of time that a woman is legally allowed to be absent from work before and after she gives birth.

 

Take maternity leave = be on maternity leave

  • She's due next month, so she will start taking maternity leave.
  • I will be on maternity leave for a month. Emily will fill in for me.
TOEIC 900

paternity leave

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Paternity leave = a period of time that a father is legally allowed to be absent from work before and after the birth of his child.

 

Take paternity leave = be on paternity leave

A: I will be on paternity leave for a month.

B: I will get John to take your shift.

TOEIC 900

shift

/shift/ [sh.ih1.f.t] play_circle_filled

Shift = a group of workers who do a job for a period of time during the day or night

work the day shift / be on the day shift 

work the night shift / be on the night shift 

work the graveyard shift / be on the graveyard shift 

work the morning shift / be on the morning shift 

work the afternoon shift / be on the afternoon shift

Take someone's shift = Cover someone's shift  = Fill in for someone = Cover for someone

  • I can't make it to my shift today.

  • She's just finished a 13-hour shift at the hospital.

  • Most assembly line workers work in shifts.

  • Right now five people including me are taking turns to be on the night shift.

  • I am supposed to work the night shift tonight, but I am not feeling well. Can you take my shift?

  • I am going to work double shifts tomorrow. Can you take my shift?

  • Next week, I will work the graveyard shift for three days in a row. It is going to be brutal.

  • Based on next week's work schedule, I have 3 days of afternoon shifts and 4 days of morning shifts next week.

Shift = change + Obj

  • I shifted the bag to my other shoulder.

  • If we shift the offices to the second floor, we can double the size of our showrooms. 

  • She shifted her position slightly so she could see the stage better. 

  • The wind is expected to shift to the west tomorrow. 

  • He nervously shifted from one foot to another. 

Shift = (opinion, position, attitude) change

  • Public opinion on gun control has shifted dramatically in recent years.  

  • Society's attitudes towards women have shifted enormously over the last century.

  • Media attention has shifted recently onto environmental issues.

  • Industry experts argue that a recent shift in consumer awareness about health and wellness also has a big impact on the beauty industry.

Shift = change (car) gears

  • In cars that are automatics, you don't have to bother with shifting gears.

  • You'll probably rely on the tachometer when you first start driving a manual car to know when to shift gears. But with experience, you'll be able to do it by how the car sounds and feels.

  • The tachometer on your vehicle dashboard shows your engine's current RPMs; you should shift before it begins to reach the red line at the top of the range.

  • He slammed on the gas and shifted into third gear.

  • Slow the car down by shifting into lower gears. 

TOEIC Vocabulary Exercise

Ready to test out the words we've gone over? Let's jump into a fun vocab challenge! You'll listen to English sentences and try to type them out. Think of it as a brain workout! Doing this can really help you remember the words better and boost your speaking and writing skills. Plus, it'll make you more confident in tests and everyday chats. Sounds good? Let's dive in!



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