working day

A working day is any day that you work. Most commonly, working day refers to one of the days in the working week, the span of (often five) days that are not the weekend and when many people work.

The word workday means the same thing as working day, and workweek means the same thing as working week. Workday and workweek are much more commonly used in the U.S. and Canada.

The standard workweek is from Monday through Friday, with Saturday and Sunday being considered the weekend, though working schedules vary widely. Many full-time jobs involve a 40-hour workweek consisting of five eight-hour working days. In this sense, workweek refers to all the time spent working in a week, and a working day refers to the hours spent working in a day.

Working day sometimes refers just to the part of the day that you work, as in After the working day, I like to unwind by taking a walk around the lake before I go home for the night. 

The word working day is sometimes used to distinguish it from other nonwork days during a certain period, as in My trip is 11 days away—and only eight working days!

Example: My working day consists of catching up on emails for the first hour or so, and then I’m in meetings for several hours, leaving me an hour or two to get some actual work done.

The term working day has been used since at least the 1500s.

Many workers associate the working day with the eight or so hours they have to work five days a week, but the eight-hour working day and the 40-hour workweek are relatively new concepts. In earlier times, it was common for standard working days to be 12 hours more.

What are some synonyms for working day?

• workday

What are some words that share a root or word element with working day? 

• working week
• workweek
• weekday
• workplace
• work
• day

What are some words that often get used in discussing working day?

• eight
• hour
• five
• week
• pay
• full-time
• part-time
• schedule

A full-time working week commonly consists of five eight-hour working days, but a working day can refer to any day—or part of a day—during which a person works. The word workday means the same thing and is much more commonly used in the U.S. and Canada.

Last working day of the year for me. 🎈

— Paul Kidd (@paulkidd) December 3, 2020

Happy Labour Day! Today we celebrate the eight-hour working day. Put your feet up, play with your kids or do whatever it takes for you to unwind and reset for the short week ahead. #worklifebalance #restup #whs #CentreforWHS pic.twitter.com/qhOXnqSyKG

— Centre for WHS (@CentreforWHS) September 30, 2018

The history of the eight-hour working day https://t.co/klL2MHBVTO

— The Independent (@Independent) November 3, 2015

Is working day used correctly in the following sentence? 

Sometimes my working day extends into the night—I need to remind myself to take a break.