weeknight

[week-nahyt]

noun

1. any night of the week, usually except Saturday and Sunday.

adjective

1. Also weeknightly of, on, or for a weeknight.

   the weeknight lineup of TV programs.

weeknight

/ ˈwiːkˌnaɪt /

noun

1. the evening or night of a weekday

Word History and Origins

Origin of weeknight¹

First recorded in 1855–60; week + night

Example Sentences

Over the next month on The Bite, Salon’s food newsletter, I’ll share four recipes that celebrate autumn produce — apples, pumpkin, pears and figs — each designed for weeknights, with store-bought shortcuts where they make sense.

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With good ingredients, a little technique, and respect for the inherent generosity of the dish, a rice casserole moves from nostalgic relic to weeknight star.

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It wasn’t refined, but it was exuberant, which is honestly the energy I’d love to bring to weeknight cooking.

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Perfect for weeknight experimentation, and ideal for sneaking into family favorites.

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Stephen tucked in a couple of bread-and-butter pickles for good measure, a kind of weeknight Cuban, improvised but persuasive.

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When To Use

What is a weeknight?

A weeknight is the evening of a weekday—any day that is not a weekend day.Since the weekend is considered to consist of Saturday and Sunday, the weekdays are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.The word week most commonly refers to any period of seven consecutive days, or to the seven-day period on the calendar that begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. However, in weekday and weeknight, it refers to the five-day period that’s often considered the workweek or school week. The standard workweek is from Monday through Friday, though working schedules vary widely.For this reason, terms like weekday and weeknight are typically used—instead of just saying day or night—to distinguish them from the days and nights on the weekend.The similar terms work night and school night refer to nights when a person has to work or go to school the next day. Weeknight doesn’t necessarily imply this, but most people are probably less likely to call Friday night a weeknight since Friday evening is often considered the start of the weekend (though Friday is still considered a weekday.)Weeknight is commonly used as an adjective, as in weeknight dinner. The word weeknights can be used as an adverb meaning on weeknights, as in I work weeknights, but I’m free weekends. Example: I don’t usually like to be out so late on a weeknight, but I couldn’t miss this!