Okuzeka
Business English vocabulary · Emails and Reports

Out of office

Meaning in business english, with examples

phraseCommon term

In business english, out of office means: Away from work, for example on holiday or a business trip; also the automatic email reply that tells senders you are away.

In Turkish: ofis dışında, otomatik yanıt, izinde

How it is used

Often shortened to OOO. You set up an out-of-office reply, also called an auto-reply, with your return date and a contact person. In shared calendars, 'OOO' marks the days you are away.

Example sentences

  1. I'll be out of office from 10 to 14 August with limited access to email.

  2. I got an out-of-office reply, so I called her colleague instead.

Common collocations

  • out-of-office reply
  • set up an out of office
  • be out of office
  • OOO
  • availabilityThe times when someone is free to meet, talk or work on something.
  • CCShort for carbon copy: the email field for people who should see a message for information but are not expected to act on it. Also used as a verb.
  • forwardTo send an email or message that you have received to another person, often with a short comment of your own.
  • calendar inviteAn electronic invitation to a meeting or call that is sent through a calendar tool and adds the event to the guests' calendars when they accept it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Emails and Reports

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: