biweekly

American  

[bahy-week-lee] / baɪˈwik li /

adjective

1. occurring every two weeks.

2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly.

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noun

• biweeklies
  plural

1. a periodical issued every other week.

adverb

1. every two weeks.

2. twice a week.

biweekly British  

/ baɪˈwiːklɪ /

adjective

1. every two weeks

2. (often avoided because of confusion with sense 1) twice a week; semiweekly See bi- 1

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noun

1. a periodical published every two weeks

Usage

What does biweekly mean? Biweekly is commonly used to mean one of two things: once every two weeks or twice per week. It can be used this way as an adjective, as in a biweekly meeting, or an adverb, as in We plan to meet biweekly. Yes, you can sometimes figure out what biweekly means from the context of the sentence. But not always. The term biweekly meeting might mean that it happens twice a week or every two weeks—both senses of the word are commonly used. Here’s the best (and maybe only) way to be perfectly clear: just say “twice a week” or “once every two weeks.”Biweekly can also be used as a noun referring to a publication that’s published twice per week or once every two weeks (as opposed to a daily or weekly, for example). Examples:

• New episodes of my biweekly podcast come out every other Monday. 
• Let’s plan to meet biweekly—every Tuesday and Friday.

Commonly Confused

See bi- ¹.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• biweeklies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of biweekly

First recorded in 1880–85; bi- ¹ + weekly

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Explanation

Things that happen biweekly usually happen once every two weeks. Or twice a week. Just to confuse you. In the publishing world, this word is straightforward: a biweekly magazine comes out once every two weeks. But once you step outside magazines and newspapers, it gets a little more confusing. People use this word to describe things that happen once every two weeks, which is officially correct. They also use it to describe things that happen twice in one week, which is kind of correct — but the word semiweekly is more accurate in that case.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

biweekly

For Tock, whose rent consumes almost an entire biweekly paycheck, “the idea of homeownership is anywhere from ‘so far out’ to ‘I have given up,’” which fuels his activism as a long-term renter.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

“My collection of shoes has been directly connected to my biweekly checks,” said McDaniel, head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2022-25.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Starting Wednesday, Mason will get that opportunity with the launch of “Alchemy with Anthony Mason,” a biweekly streamed YouTube program featuring in-depth interviews about the creative process with musicians, authors, artists and film directors.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

New episodes drop biweekly on Sundays at 7 a.m.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

But one morning she announced that she would wait no more, and the seeds went into the ground that day, followed by biweekly applications of the thick black fertilizer she concocted in the evenings.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

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