biweekly

1 of 2

adjective

bi·​week·​ly (ˌ)bī-ˈwē-klē 

1

: occurring every two weeks : fortnightly

The biweekly mortgage is now offered. … Instead of making one monthly payment, the borrower makes a payment … every two weeks.

—Stephen R. Mettling et al.

2

: occurring twice a week

In addition, Air Canada … offers direct biweekly service from Toronto on Sunday and Wednesday …

—Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince

biweekly adverb

Usage of Bimonthly

Bimonthly and biweekly are inherently ambiguous because bi- can mean both "occurring every two" and "occurring two times." This ambiguity cannot be eliminated by the dictionary. If you need bimonthly or biweekly, we suggest leaving some clues in your context about which sense of bi- you intend. Note that if you need the meaning "twice a," you can also substitute semi- for bi- without additional clarification: semimonthly, semiweekly. Dealing with years is generally simpler: biannual usually means "occurring twice a year" and biennial usually means "occurring every two years."

biweekly

2 of 2

noun

1

: a publication issued every two weeks

2

: a publication issued twice a week : semiweekly

Examples of biweekly in a Sentence

Adjective

The biweekly mortgage loan was started in Canada and is now offered by lenders in the United States. This loan is similar to the standard fixed-rate loan except for the frequency of payments. Instead of making one monthly payment, the borrower makes a payment equal to one-half of the normal monthly payment every two weeks … —Stephen R. Mettling et al., Modern Residential Financing Methods, 1990

Last week ABC brought back Dick Cavett … and introduced syndicated newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin as Cavett's biweekly alternate (Thursday and Fridays). —Harry Waters, Newsweek, 6 Oct. 1986

She attends biweekly classes and studies at the library every Saturday.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The biweekly breakfast between the Fed chair and Treasury Secretary is the appropriate venue for communication between the White House and the central bank rather than face-to-face meetings with the president, Waller said. —Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 17 Dec. 2025

Try our biweekly grid game Telematrix. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2025

Moving to a biweekly collection would save the city over $1 million per year at a time when disposal costs are rising, officials have stressed. —Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025

Her 11-year-old daughter suffers from a rare immunodeficiency disorder that requires biweekly plasma infusions to provide some protection against disease. —Lee Ann Anderson, The Hill, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

circa 1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for biweekly

• obliquely
• uniquely
• bleakly
• meekly
• weakly
• weekly

Kids Definition

biweekly

1 of 2 adjective

bi·​week·​ly (ˈ)bī-ˈwē-klē 

1

: occurring, done, or produced every two weeks

2

: occurring, done, or produced twice a week

biweekly adverb

biweekly

2 of 2 noun

: a biweekly publication