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week

n.
US //ˈwik// UK //wˈiːk// week
  1. 1 seven days (n.)
    A1 Beginner

    a period of seven days in a row.

    any period of seven consecutive days.

    Example

    I am going on holiday for a week starting tomorrow.

    Example

    The project timeline was extended by a week to account for the unexpected delays in the supply chain.

  2. 2 calendar week (n.)
    A1 Beginner

    the seven days from Monday to Sunday (or Sunday to Saturday).

    a period of seven days beginning with a specific day, typically Sunday or Monday, according to local calendar conventions.

    Example

    The first week of the month was very busy at the office.

    Example

    Most European calendars display the week as starting on Monday, whereas North American formats typically begin with Sunday.

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  1. 3 working days (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the five days from Monday to Friday when most people work.

    the portion of the week dedicated to professional labour, typically Monday through Friday.

    Example

    I usually try to finish all my chores during the week so I can relax on Saturday.

    Example

    The company is trialling a four-day week to see if it improves employee productivity and mental well-being.
    • workweek
  2. 4 seven days from now (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate British English

    a way to say 'seven days after' a specific day.

    used after a day of the week to indicate a date seven days after that day.

    Example

    I will see you on Tuesday week for our next lunch.

    Example

    The contract is set to expire on Friday week, so we must finalise the renewal before then.

    Usage

    Typically follows the name of a day, as in 'Monday week'.

Etymology 1

From Middle English wyke, weke, from Old English wiċe, wucu (“week”), from Proto-West Germanic wikā, from Proto-Germanic wikǭ (“sequence; week”), from Proto-Indo-European weyg-, weyk- (“to bend, curve”). Related to Proto-Germanic *wīkaną (“to bend, yield, cease”). Cognates Cognate with Scots ouk, oulk (“week”), Yola wick, wik (“week”), North Frisian waag, Week, weg (“week”), Saterland Frisian Wiek, Wíek (“week”), West Frisian wike (“week”), Bavarian Wochn (“week”), Cimbrian boch, bòcha (“week”), Dutch week (“week”), German Woche (“week”), German Low German Week (“week”), Limburgish waek, Wéëk (“week”), Luxembourgish Woch (“week”), Mòcheno boch (“week”), Vilamovian woch (“week”), Yiddish וואָך (vokh, “week”), Danish uge (“week”), Elfdalian wiku, wikå (“week”), Faroese and Icelandic vika (“week”), Jamtish vuku (“week”), Norwegian Bokmål uke (“week”), Norwegian Nynorsk veke, vika, viku, vukku, vuku (“week”), Scanian uga (“week”), Swedish vecka (“week”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌺𐍉 (wikō, “sequence; week”); also Cornish gwigh (“periwinkles, whelks”), Irish faocha, faochóg (“periwinkle”), Latin vicis (“alteration, turn; time”), Ancient Greek εἴκω (eíkō, “to yield”), Albanian vig (“bier, litter, stretcher”), Northern Kurdish avêtin, avitin, avîtin, havêtin, havîtin (“to cast, hurl, throw”), Persian آویختَن (âvixtan, “to hang, suspend”), بیختن (bēxtan / bixtan, “to sieve, sift”). Related also to Old English wīcan (“to yield, give way”), English weak and wick.

Etymology 2

Imitative.

Word family
Idioms7 entries

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