What Is a Fortnight? Meaning, Uses and Examples

A fortnight is 14 days, or exactly two weeks. Two fortnights from today, October 6, is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Because 14 is a multiple of 7, a fortnight from any date always lands on the same day of the week.

Where the word comes from

“Fortnight” is a shortened form of the Old English for “fourteen nights”. Early Germanic peoples often counted time in nights rather than days, which is also where the old word “sennight” (seven nights, a week) comes from. Sennight dropped out of use, but fortnight stayed.

The word is common in British English and in Pakistan, India, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Most Americans understand it but rarely say it; they say “two weeks” instead.

Fortnightly, biweekly and bimonthly

This is where people get confused:

• Fortnightly always means once every two weeks.
• Biweekly usually means every two weeks, especially in American pay and billing. But dictionaries also allow “twice a week”, so it can be ambiguous.
• Bimonthly can mean every two months or twice a month.
• Semi-monthly means twice a month, often on the 1st and 15th, or the 15th and last day.

If a schedule really matters, such as rent, a loan repayment or a meeting, write it out: “every second Friday” or “on the 1st and 15th”. Twice a month gives 24 dates a year; every fortnight gives 26.

Fortnightly pay: 26 paydays a year

A year has 365 days, which is 26 fortnights and 1 day (2 days in a leap year). So fortnightly pay means 26 paydays in most years. Because of the leftover day, the payday drifts one day earlier through the calendar each year, and about every 11 years a calendar year contains 27 fortnightly paydays.

To compare a fortnightly wage with a monthly one, multiply by 26 and divide by 12. A fortnightly pay of 50,000 is 50,000 × 26 ÷ 12 ≈ 108,333 a month, not 100,000. The difference comes from the two months each year that contain three fortnightly paydays. Use our payday calendar to list the actual dates for your schedule.

The next fortnights from today

Twenty-six fortnights is 364 days, one day short of a year, which is why the date falls a day before today’s date next year. The 2 fortnights from today page and the fortnights until calculator work this out for any date.

Everyday uses

• Work and pay: fortnightly payrolls and timesheets.
• Notice and returns: “within a fortnight” is a friendly way of saying 14 days.
• School and sport: “the fortnight” is a common name for a two-week holiday or a two-week tournament, such as Wimbledon.
• Health: doctors may say “come back in a fortnight” for a two-week follow-up.
• Lunar cycles: the moon goes from new to full in about a fortnight (roughly 14.8 days), which is why the Islamic month’s middle comes about two weeks after the new crescent.

Fortnights in a month and a year

A month is a little over two fortnights: 28 days in February of a normal year is exactly two, while a 31-day month is two fortnights and three days. That small gap is why fortnightly bills and pay dates slowly move through the month instead of staying on the same date. Over a full year the gap adds up to two extra fortnights compared with paying twice a month, which is worth knowing when you compare a fortnightly rent or salary with a monthly one.

Converting fortnights

A quick example

How many fortnights until Christmas? Today there are 80 days to go, which is 5 fortnights and 10 days. Converting is simple: divide days by 14, or divide weeks by 2. For more on weeks, see how many weeks are in a year.

Frequently asked questions