Meaning & use
work week
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Meanings
nouncountable
the number of days or hours that someone normally works each week.
Grammar: Countable: say a work week or the work week, and use a plural work weeks for more than one.
Patterns
- a 40-hour work week
- a short work week
- during the work week
Most office staff here have a standard 40-hour work week.
She says her work week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday.
A shorter work week can make people happier and more productive.
nounsingular
the days from Monday to Friday, when most people are at their jobs.
Grammar: Usually singular and often used with during or in: during the work week.
Patterns
- during the work week
- in the middle of the work week
I try to go to the gym three times during the work week.
Trains are crowded in the work week but quiet on Sundays.
He does all his shopping in the work week so weekends stay free.
Word forms
| plural | work weeks |
|---|
Common combinations
- a 40-hour work week
- The new contract sets a 40-hour work week for everyone.
- a long work week
- After a long work week, I just want to sleep.
- a short work week
- Some companies now offer a four-day, short work week.
- during the work week
- Call me during the work week, not on Saturday.
- the average work week
- The average work week in that industry is about 45 hours.
Synonyms and how they differ
- working week
- The usual British term for the same idea; it sounds British rather than American.
- schedule
- Much broader: it can mean any plan of times, not specifically the days or hours you work.
- shift
- Refers to one period of work in a day, such as a night shift, not the whole week.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: work week or week? work week or working hours?
work week vs week
A week is simply any seven-day period; a work week is only the working part of it, usually Monday to Friday.
work week vs working hours
Working hours are the times of day you work; the work week is the total days or hours across the week.
Practice
Which sentence uses "work week" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Work week" is a noun meaning the days or hours you work, so "My work week usually runs from Monday to Friday" fits. Option A wrongly uses it like an adjective before "meeting," option C leaves out "a" and changes the meaning, and option D treats it as a physical object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “work week”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.