Meanings
adjectiveon the club (not comparable)
- UKnot comparableslangTemporarily away from work, usually due to sickness, supported by sickness benefit.
Then he crept up the stone stairs behind the drapery shop at the Co-op., and peeped in the reading-room. Usually one or two men were there, either old, useless fellows, or colliers "on the club".
1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 5”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC
Origin
From the term benefit club.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
on the club. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20club
MLA
“on the club.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20club. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the club,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20club.
Source: on the club on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.