Have you noticed the shift from “calling in sick” to “calling out sick”? This change in language has been happening for decades, but the traditional “call in sick” remains the most common way to report absence due to illness.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “call in sick” means contacting your employer or school to inform them of your absence, especially due to illness. The earliest example of this phrase dates back to the 1940s.
While “call off sick” and “call out sick” have also been used over the years, “call in sick” continues to be the preferred expression. A similar phrase, “call off work,” has been in use since the mid-1960s.
A Google Ngram Viewer search confirms that “call in sick” is the most commonly used phrase among the four variations. There have been suggestions that “call out sick” is popular in certain regions, but there is no linguistic evidence to support this claim.
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