week

noun \ ˈwēk \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of week

1 a : any of a series of 7-day cycles used in various calendars; especially : a 7-day cycle beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday

b (1) : a week beginning with a specified day or containing a specified holiday

the week of the 18th

(2) : a week appointed for public recognition of some cause

2 a : any seven consecutive days

b : a series of regular working, business, or school days during each 7-day period

3 British : a time seven days before or after a specified day

last Sunday week

See week defined for English-language learners

See week defined for kids

Examples of week in a Sentence

the last week of the month
I can meet you sometime next week.
The menu changes each week.
You can never be sure what will happen from one week to the next.
The menu changes from week to week.
The baby is two weeks old. [a two-week .
I'll be on vacation for two weeks starting this Tuesday.
That car rents for 0 a week.
I arrived a week ago.
It took him two weeks to paint the house.

Recent Examples of week from the Web

The Guatemala eruption comes as Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, more than 4,000 miles away, experiences a strong uptick in volcanic activity that began more than four weeks ago.

— denise chow /, NBC News, "Guatemala's deadly volcano eruption: What is the 'Ring of Fire'?," 5 June 2018
The center, which is currently opens five days a week, will begin night trials soon.

— kyunghee park, Bloomberg.com, "Singapore Built a Dedicated Town for Self-Driving Buses," 4 June 2018
Bernard signed up with a personal trainer at the gym, Bodies by Burgoon, and started training two to three times a week in weight lifting, pylometrics, boxing and more.

— julie mazziotta, PEOPLE.com, "Mom Goes from Eating Pints of Ice Cream to Powerlifting — and Loses 107 Lbs.," 1 June 2018
This new wave of arrivals began more than three weeks ago, with families, including many young children, sometimes spending up to five days waiting in the heat of the day and the cold of night.

— rafael carranza, azcentral, "Homeland secretary defends border officers against 'dishonest' campaign," 31 May 2018
Elsewhere, Washington, and having to do a four-hour-plus epic on Broadway eight times a week.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "David Morse and his 'St. Elsewhere' bud Denzel Washington are up for Tonys next week," 31 May 2018
Watch How Your Skin Reacts Start by using toners only three times a week to avoid irritation, says Dr. Jamal.

— New York Times, "How to Exfoliate, Without Damaging Your Skin," 29 May 2018
Up for less than a week, downtown Detroit’s new high-profile piece of public art has already become a target for vandalism.

— ryan patrick hooper, Detroit Free Press, "New Kaws sculpture in Campus Martius is target of vandalism," 26 May 2018
Now, eight months after the storm, 13,000 Puerto Ricans still lack electricity, 283 schools are slated to close because thousands of people have fled the island, and another hurricane season is less than a week away.

— emily atkin, The New Republic, "Hurricane Katrina killed 1,833 people. Hurricane Maria killed at least 4,645.," 25 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'week.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of week

Middle English weke, from Old English wicu, wucu; akin to Old High German wehha week and perhaps to Latin vicis change, alternation, Old High German wehsal exchange

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year