weeknight
Americannoun
-
weeknights
plural
adjective
noun
Usage
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!
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of weeknight
Explanation
If it's evening, and the next day isn't Saturday or Sunday, it's a weeknight. Don't plan that sleepover party for a Tuesday — it's a weeknight, and you've got to get up early the next morning for school. During the regular work week, most people tend to go to bed before it gets too late. On weeknights, you're less likely to go to a movie that starts at 9:00 or invite your friends over for a late night dance party. Whether you've got work or school in the morning, weeknights are often all about being responsible. Your favorite restaurant might even close early on weeknights, while staying open until midnight on the weekend.
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.
See Examples For:
This is exactly how I like to cook on a weeknight: a little homemade, a little store-bought and just enough actual cooking to make dinner feel like dinner.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The ingredients should freeze reasonably well—otherwise you won’t be particularly thrilled to meet them again—and at least one of them should eliminate a meaningful bit of weeknight prep.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Her role at CBS made her the first female solo anchor of a national weeknight news broadcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Livesey previously worked as editor-in-chief of Sullivan's Sport newspapers and now presents a weeknight show on BBC Radio 5 Live.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
It’s a weeknight, and I have three math worksheets to power through.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
The weekend is almost in sight and you’re craving something comforting yet nourishing to help you conquer these final weeknights.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
She remembers how friends envied her freedom; while they were tied down with dinner duty, their kids’ homework, and college savings, Kant spent her evenings painting and didn’t think twice about going out on weeknights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Though she died last year, her influence anchors Cho’s work, including this recipe, based on a meal she’d make on busy weeknights when Cho was a child.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
As conscientious cooks, it’s easy to feel a little bad when that countertop appliance we thought would be the thing—the one that would make weeknights breezy and dinners sparkly—turns out to be a dud.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2025
Men who drank beer by themselves on weeknights brought their wives and little kids with them on Sunday.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
