English Reference
Noun

fortnight

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈfɔɹtˌnaɪt/ UK /fˈɔːtnaɪt/ fort·night UK spelling fortnights

n.a period of two weeks. It is a common way to talk about time in British English.

n.a period of fourteen days or two weeks. Common in British and Commonwealth English; largely absent from North American usage.


SIMPLE

We are going on holiday for a fortnight.

CONTEXTUAL

The project team meets every fortnight to discuss their progress and set new goals for the next two weeks.

COMPLEX

The publication is released once a fortnight, allowing the editorial team sufficient time to conduct deep investigative research between issues.

Usage

Commonly used with the prepositions 'in' or 'for'.

Usage fortnight ago

In that regard the family was fortunate – they only had to wait a fortnight to get the results.

BBC News· 24 Aug 2026

Karović told the Guardian less than a fortnight after the incident that he did not remember much but had a painful head and neck.

The Guardian· 14 Aug 2026

From Middle English fourtenyght, fourtene nyght, from Old English fēowertīene niht (literally “fourteen nights"; the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights), equivalent to fourteen + night. Compare sennight.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Old English fēowertīene niht
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated