fortnight

noun

fort·​night ˈfȯrt-ˌnīt 

: a period of 14 days : two weeks

They stayed with us for a fortnight.

Examples of fortnight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jacob Whitehead on Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi’s arrest on suspicion of match-fixing a fortnight before the World Cup. — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 20 July 2026

Getty Images Arthur Fery’s dream run at Wimbledon came to an end in the semifinals, but the British wildcard scored a huge payday during the fortnight. — Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

More than half a million visitors attend Wimbledon over the Grand Slam fortnight. — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 9 July 2026

There’s enough cash on hand for Rhaenyra to administer the Seven Kingdoms for a fortnight, and no one remaining from the old regime — not Alicent, not Orwyle — knows where Lannister hid the rest of the ingots. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fourtenight, alteration of fourtene night, from Old English fēowertȳne niht fourteen nights

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fortnight

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Kids Definition

fortnight

noun

fort·​night ˈfōrt-ˌnīt 

ˈfȯrt-

: a period of 14 days : two weeks

fortnightly

-lē

adverb or adjective

Etymology

Old English fēowertȳne niht "fourteen nights"