fortnight

American  

[fawrt-nahyt, -nit] / ˈfɔrtˌnaɪt, -nɪt /

noun

fortnights plural

1. the space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.

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fortnight British  

/ ˈfɔːtˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a period of 14 consecutive days; two weeks

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fortnights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fortnight

First recorded before 1000; Middle English fourtenight, contraction of Old English fēowertēne niht; see fourteen, night

Explanation

A fortnight is fourteen nights, or two weeks. This word isn't used much in American English, but you'll come across it if you travel to England — or read a lot of old British novels. The word fortnight is still in use in Great Britain and some former British colonies. It comes from the Old English, and is literally a shortened form of fourteen nights. People sometimes use it when they're discussing their vacations or their pay schedules. In the United States, however, people typically just say "two weeks."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fortnight fortnights

Then the sport started, and many concerns vanished over a fortnight of high quality competition and mostly good weather.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

Economic woes have joined the long list of worries facing Venezuelans living in the coastal region that suffered unthinkable damage during twin tremors a fortnight ago.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

A wrist injury sidelined her for almost 10 months from September 2023, but she has rediscovered her finest form this fortnight to beat three former Grand Slam champions on her way to the final.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The difference this fortnight is that she’s playing on her own terms instead of letting her past demons on the surface interfere.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Her captain had tried to sail a fortnight past, but Lord Balon would not permit it.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Shefte: Indeed, the first two fortnights are dark and full of terrors.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

WIMBLEDON, England — For all the days and fortnights and years of the early 2010s, the horizon didn’t seem to hold in store the kind of impressionist painting of the Thursday that Venus Williams just had.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 13, 2017

I’ll get used to it, probably in the next few fortnights or so.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2016

“Eleven-day fortnights, 16-hour days, pages and pages of dialogue.”

From The Guardian ● Apr. 23, 2016

Physical work of this kind admits of accurate measurement, and I was careful to equalise the average of these experimental comparative fortnights.

From Study and Stimulants; Or, the Use of Intoxicants and Narcotics in Relation to Intellectual Life by Reade, Alfred Arthur