Have a rest means to take a short break to get your energy back: sit down, lie down or stop for a while during a journey. The expression is typical of British English.
Want to remember have a rest?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
have a rest; have a short/quick rest; stop to have a rest; take a rest; get some rest
- After lunch, Grandma usually has a rest in her armchair for half an hour.
- We climbed halfway up the hill and stopped to have a rest.
- You've been on your feet all morning, so sit down and have a rest.
What changed
First versionWe had a rest in Turkey last summer and swam every day.
RevisionWe had a holiday in Turkey last summer and swam every day.
It is tempting to use rest for any time off, but have a rest only covers a short pause to recover your strength. A trip to the seaside is a holiday, or a vacation in American English, so rest was changed to holiday.
In American English people usually say take a rest or get some rest instead of have a rest. Get some rest means resting for longer or catching up on sleep: You look exhausted, go home and get some rest. The rest is a different word altogether, meaning what is left: I'll finish the rest of the report tomorrow.
Your turn
You've been driving for four hours, so stop at the next café and ___.
Show the answer
have a rest — After four hours at the wheel, the driver needs one short stop, so rest takes a: have a rest. A native speaker wouldn't say have rest without the article.
Describe how you take a break in the middle of a working or study day: say what time you stop and what you do.
Around three o'clock I usually have a rest for fifteen minutes and drink a cup of tea by the window.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.