weekends
Americanadverb
adverb
Usage
What does weekends mean? The word weekends can be used as an adverb meaning every weekend or on or during weekends, as in I work weekends, so I always miss my son’s Saturday games. Weekends is of course also the plural of the noun weekend. The weekend is most commonly considered the period between Friday evening and the end of Sunday. More strictly speaking, the weekend is thought to consist of Saturday and Sunday (often regardless of whether the calendar week is considered to begin on Sunday or Monday). In practical terms, the weekend is typically considered to be the period between the end of the workweek (or school week) and the beginning of a new one—which is why most people consider their weekend to start on Friday night, after work or school. However, when weekends is used as an adverb, it usually means every Saturday and Sunday or on Saturdays and Sundays. For example, a store that’s open weekends is open during at least some hours every Saturday and Sunday. Example: I live on campus during the week but I go home weekends.
Etymology
Origin of weekends
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Weekends are often spent working in bars or festivals.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Weekends now seem to be the worse time for oil traders to let their guard down.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026
Weekends in Iran begin on Thursdays, while this Saturday marks a long-standing national holiday.
From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025
Among the many artists on the bill during Weekends 1 and 2, here are 14 names we’re excited to see.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2025
Weekends usually meant a trip to the McDonald’s drive-through window after ballet and before soccer.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
