Dictionary.com
definitions

weekend

[week-end, -end]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR weekend ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the end of a week, especially the period of time between Friday evening and Monday morning: We spent the weekend at Virginia Beach.
this period as extended by one or more holidays, days off, or the like, that immediately precede or follow: We're getting a three-day weekend at Christmas.
any two-day period taken or given regularly as a weekly rest period from one's work: I have to work at the hospital on Saturdays and Sundays, so I take my weekends on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

adjective

of, for, or on a weekend: a weekend pass; a weekend excursion.

verb (used without object)

to pass the weekend, as at a place: They weekended at their country place.

RELATED CONTENT

Some people believe the “Rapture” and the “Apocalypse” will happen this weekend. What do these words mean exactly?
Who knows if REM had a specific date in mind when they sang their immortal chorus, “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” But according to Harold Camping, a California-based Christian radio broadcaster, May 21, 2011 will bring about a rapture that will inevitably lead to the end of the world five months later. Before you throw away your …
READ MORE
LDW
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

expedition, picnic, vacation, excursion, trek, outing, travel, swing, trip, course, road, circuit, cruise, round, driving, ride, flying, tour, transit, movement

Origin of weekend

First recorded in 1875–80; week + end1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for weekend

Contemporary Examples of weekend

Historical Examples of weekend

  • That gives the Whaleys what they've been wishin' for, and me a chance to do the weekend act now and then.

    Shorty McCabe

    Sewell Ford

  • Tuesday, I suppose, would be best for Clara, after her weekend.

    The Freelands

    John Galsworthy

  • Well, as they said, we had the whole weekend to work out an understanding.

    Inside John Barth

    William W. Stuart

  • Over there, he said, dressing down one of his Weekend Warriors.

  • The weekend of November 8, 9, and 10 was a long weekend, was it not?

    Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15)

    The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for weekend

weekend

noun (ˌwiːkˈɛnd)

  1. the end of the week, esp the period from Friday night until the end of Sunday
  2. (as modifier)a weekend party

verb (ˈwiːkˌɛnd)

(intr) informal to spend or pass a weekend
See also weekends
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for weekend
n.

also week-end, 1630s, from week + end (n.). Originally a northern word (referring to the period from Saturday noon to Monday morning); it became general after 1878. As an adjective, "only on weekends," it is recorded from 1935. Long weekend attested from 1900; in reference to Great Britain in the period between the world wars, 1944.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper