biweekly

1 of 2

adjective

bi·​week·​ly (ˌ)bī-ˈwē-klē How to pronounce biweekly (audio)
1
: occurring every two weeks : fortnightly
2
: occurring twice a week
biweekly adverb
What do bimonthly and biweekly mean?: Usage Guide

Many people are puzzled about bimonthly and biweekly, which are often ambiguous because they are formed from two different senses of bi-: "occurring every two" and "occurring two times." This ambiguity has been in existence for nearly a century and a half and cannot be eliminated by the dictionary. The chief difficulty is that many users of these words assume that others know exactly what they mean, and they do not bother to make their context clear. So if you need bimonthly or biweekly, you should leave some clues in your context to the sense of bi- you mean. And if you need the meaning "twice a," you can substitute semi- for bi-. Biannual and biennial are usually differentiated.

biweekly

2 of 2

noun

1
: a publication issued every two weeks
2

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
In this biweekly column, Andy Dunn—the founding CEO of Bonobos and Pie—offers advice on leading teams, building things, and surviving the startup life. Andy Dunn, Fortune, 23 May 2024 Nobody asked me, but there are two major benefits to the return to weekly recycling in the city (versus the biweekly schedule Baltimore had kept since the pandemic). Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 8 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for biweekly 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biweekly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

circa 1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of biweekly was in 1832

Dictionary Entries Near biweekly

Cite this Entry

“Biweekly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biweekly. Accessed 3 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

biweekly

1 of 2 adjective
bi·​week·​ly (ˈ)bī-ˈwē-klē How to pronounce biweekly (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on biweekly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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