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

Rusbridger has been a vociferous critic of Robbie Gibb, the BBC board member and former Conservative Party spin doctor whose name has been connected over the past fortnight with a potential coup to oust Turness, reveal the Prescott memo to the public and slowly move the BBC’s coverage to the right. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2025

Newcastle United’s Premier League season potentially hinges on the decisions Eddie Howe and his coaching staff make over the next fortnight. —Chris Waugh, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

Zohran could have chosen to stay quiet and spend the final fortnight of the campaign focused on his core messages, ignoring his critics’ attempts to lower the tone and use his faith to other him. —Sadiq Khan, Time, 5 Nov. 2025

Pooro manages to escape and finds her way home to her parents, who disown her for having spent a fortnight with a Muslim. —JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025

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"