weekdays

IPA/ˈwiːk.deɪ/
KK[wˈikdˌez]IPA/ˈwiːk.deɪ/

weekdays — noun

1. the days from Monday to Friday, when most people are at work or school, consider

1.nounA2
Definition

the days from Monday to Friday, when most people are at work or school, considered together as the regular part of the week

Example

Weekdays at our clinic start at eight, so Rafael leaves home early.

plural noun + start at [time]

The public pool is much quieter on weekdays than it is on Saturdays.

on weekdays contrasted with Saturdays

Common collocations
  • on weekdays
  • weekday traffic
  • weekday mornings
  • weekday schedule
Synonyms
  • workdays

    close in meaning, but often sounds more focused on employment than on school or general daily routines

  • business days

    more formal and often excludes public holidays as well as weekends

Antonyms
  • weekends

    the Saturday-and-Sunday part of the week, usually associated with rest time

Grammar Patterns

on weekdays

weekdays and weekends

Usage Note

This noun names the Monday-to-Friday section of the week as a group. It is commonly contrasted with weekends and often appears after 'on' when you are describing regular schedules or opening hours.

Common Mistakes

The shop is quieter in weekdays.
The shop is quieter on weekdays.
Use 'on' before 'weekdays' when naming a regular time in the week.

weekdays — adverb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Weekdays' is the ordinary everyday word for Monday through Friday, especially when you are contrasting those days with the weekend: 'The gym is quieter on weekdays.' 'Workdays' is close, but it often points more directly to employment, so it can sound narrower in family, school, or travel contexts. 'Business days' is formal and appears in banking, shipping, and contracts; it usually excludes public holidays as well as weekends. If a teacher talks about homework on weekdays, the tone is natural and general. If a bank promises a refund in three business days, the phrase belongs to an official timetable. Choose 'weekdays' for normal daily-life talk, 'workdays' for job-focused routines, and 'business days' for rules or deadlines.

weekdays ↗workdays ↗business days

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • on weekdays
  • most weekdays
  • weekday mornings
  • weekdays and weekends

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

'Weekdays' is the plural of 'weekday', a compound built from 'week' and 'day' that continues Old English forms based on the same two ideas. It came to mean the ordinary days inside the seven-day cycle, especially the ones later contrasted with the weekend. In modern English, the plural is especially common when speakers talk about repeated routines such as school, commuting, opening hours, and traffic patterns from Monday to Friday.

First known use

1694

1694, in the meaning defined above