fortnight: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Medium (Common in UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ; rare in US/Canada)Neutral to informal
Quick answer
What does “fortnight” mean?
A period of fourteen nights.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A period of fourteen nights; two weeks.
Used as a common unit of time in planning, scheduling, and casual reference to a two-week period.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Ubiquitous in UK English for any two-week period. In American English, it is understood but rarely used in everyday speech, often perceived as a Britishism.
Connotations
UK: Neutral, practical. US: Often literary, old-fashioned, or deliberately British.
Frequency
Very high frequency in UK English. Very low frequency in US English, except in fixed phrases like "fortnightly" or in historical/period contexts.
Grammar
How to Use “fortnight” in a Sentence
wait [for] a fortnightbe away [for] a fortnightlast a fortnightsee you in a fortnighttake a fortnightVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “fortnight” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- I haven't seen him in a fortnight.
- The project will take a fortnight to complete.
- She's on a fortnight's leave.
American English
- He used the word 'fortnight' to sound sophisticated.
- In the novel, set in England, they planned to meet in a fortnight.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
"The report is due in a fortnight." (UK) / "The report is due in two weeks." (US)
Academic
"The experiment will run over a fortnight."
Everyday
"We're going to Cornwall for a fortnight in July." (UK)
Technical
Rare. More common in project timelines (UK).
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “fortnight”
- Using it in US contexts where it sounds unnatural. Spelling: *fortnight (correct) vs. *fortnight (incorrect).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is understood but very rarely used in everyday American English. Americans almost always say "two weeks."
It means 'happening or appearing every two weeks.' The US equivalent is 'biweekly,' though that can ambiguously mean twice a week.
It comes from the Old English 'feowertyne niht,' meaning 'fourteen nights.'
Yes, "in a fortnight's time" is a common and correct British English phrase meaning 'two weeks from now.'
A period of fourteen nights.
Fortnight is usually neutral to informal in register.
Fortnight: in British English it is pronounced /ˈfɔːtnaɪt/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈfɔːrtnaɪt/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a fortnight of Sundays (a very long time, rarely used)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
FORT + NIGHT = FOURTEEN NIGHTS. Think of a fort you build for a two-week camping trip.
Conceptual Metaphor
TIME IS A MEASURABLE SUBSTANCE (e.g., "a block of a fortnight").
Practice
Quiz
In which variety of English is 'fortnight' a high-frequency, neutral word?