biweekly

[ bahy-week-lee ]

adjective

1. occurring every two weeks.
2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly.

noun

, plural bi·week·lies.

1. a periodical issued every other week.

adverb

1. every two weeks.
2. twice a week.

biweekly

/ baɪˈwiːklɪ /

adjective

1. every two weeks
2. (often avoided because of confusion with sense 1) twice a week; semiweekly See bi- 1

noun

1. a periodical published every two weeks

Confusables Note

See bi- ¹.

Word History and Origins

Origin of biweekly¹

First recorded in 1880–85; bi- ¹ + weekly

Example Sentences

Sign up for her biweekly politics newsletter, Standing Room Only.

From Salon

“I haven’t had to alter my body in that way,” says Strong, who underwent a doctor-supervised “starvation diet” and a regimen of tanning booth visits and biweekly spray tans to match Cohn’s notoriously leathery look.

From Los Angeles Times

Customers get a Ridwell bin and bags for collecting various items, which are picked up biweekly.

From Los Angeles Times

The campaign was also able to bring in 70 different speakers to speak at every single biweekly school board meeting in favor of a transition to clean energy.

From Los Angeles Times

Following listener feedback, future episodes, which arrive biweekly, will stick to a more structured episodic rewatch format.

From Los Angeles Times

More About Biweekly

What does biweekly mean?

Biweekly is commonly used to mean one of two things: once every two weeks or twice per week.

It can be used this way as an adjective, as in a biweekly meeting, or an adverb, as in We plan to meet biweekly. 

Yes, you can sometimes figure out what biweekly means from the context of the sentence. But not always. The term biweekly meeting might mean that it happens twice a week or every two weeks—both senses of the word are commonly used. Here’s the best (and maybe only) way to be perfectly clear: just say “twice a week” or “once every two weeks.”

Biweekly can also be used as a noun referring to a publication that’s published twice per week or once every two weeks (as opposed to a daily or weekly, for example).

Examples:

• New episodes of my biweekly podcast come out every other Monday. 
• Let’s plan to meet biweekly—every Tuesday and Friday.

Where does biweekly come from?

The first records of the word biweekly come from the 1880s. The prefix bi- means “twice” or “two.” The suffix -ly, which usually forms adverbs, is used in biweekly to mean “every.” It’s used in the same way in several other units of time, including hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly.

Different prefixes can be added to weekly to indicate a different period of time, such as in triweekly (every three weeks or three times a week) and semiweekly (twice a week).

A lot of workers are paid biweekly—every two weeks. If a publication is published biweekly, it usually means it comes out every two weeks. But newspapers that are called biweeklies are most commonly published twice a week—such as on every Monday and Thursday. Such a newspaper can also be called a twice-weekly.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to biweekly?

• biweeklies (plural noun)

What are some synonyms for biweekly?

• every two weeks
• twice a week
• semiweekly
• fortnightly

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

 

• week
• biannually
• triweekly

What are some words that often get used in discussing biweekly?

• paid
• paycheck
• meeting
• newspaper
• publication
• quota
• rate
• schedule
• task
• regular
• routine
• release

How is biweekly used in real life?

Biweekly is commonly used to mean both “twice a week” and “every two weeks.” To avoid confusion, it’s a good idea to clarify exactly which one you mean.

Don’t put your future on pause: because #YouMatterToNOVA, we're launching even more ways to pay for your college education, including monthly and biweekly payment plans! Learn more https://t.co/dZdBFlBaJc… #NearbyOutstandingVeryAffordable #NOVA

— Anne Kress (@NOVAPresKress) July 15, 2020

Let me just say that my biweekly appointment with the campus counseling center is really coming in clutch

— Maggie Regier (@maggienificentt) August 29, 2019

I never know if ‘biweekly’ is supposed to mean “twice a week” or “occurring once every two weeks”.

“A biweekly newsletter/podcast/etc.” OK but which one is it ?!?!

— Sara Soueidan (@SaraSoueidan) January 26, 2018

 

 

Try using biweekly!

Is biweekly used correctly in the following sentence?

We plan to publish biweekly, on the first of every month.