What does fortnight mean?
Word: Fortnight
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Fortnight means a period of two weeks.
How do you spell fortnight?
Syllables: fort - night
Tricky part: The gh in the second half makes no sound at all, so students who write what they hear leave it out.
Watch out for: fortnigt, fortnihgt
Memory tip: After a fortnight away, you Go Home. Let those two capitals remind you of the quiet letters, g and then h.
Fortnight in a sentence
Example 1: We go to my grandparents' village for a fortnight every May.
Example 2: The library lets you keep a book for a fortnight.
Example 3: Our exam results will be out in a fortnight.
Fun Fact
People long ago often counted time in dark hours rather than days, and the Old English phrase behind this word counts fourteen of them. The word is common in British English but rarely heard in American English.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Fusion
Choose the two parts that make the word with the given meaning:
This word means a period of fourteen days. 1. four 2. fort 3. forth 4. night 5. teen 6. week
a) 3 and 6
b) 1 and 6
c) 2 and 4
d) 3 and 4
Show answer
c) 2 and 4. Only one pairing gives a word for a stretch of time that long.
Sound Check
In which word is 'gh' pronounced differently?
a) daughter
b) laughter
c) weigh
d) fortnight
Show answer
b) laughter. In laughter these letters say f; in the other three they are silent.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) century : hundred years
b) decade : ten years
c) milenium : thousand years
d) fortnight : two weeks
Show answer
c) milenium : thousand years. A thousand years needs double l and double n, and the misspelt pair has lost an l and an n.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. fortune 2. fortnight 3. fortify 4. fortress
a) 2314
b) 3214
c) 3241
d) 2341
Show answer
c) 3241. After the shared fort, the next letters i, n, r and u set the order.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which date falls a fortnight after Monday 1 June?
a) Monday 15 June
b) Monday 22 June
c) Monday 29 June
d) Monday 8 June
Show answer
a) Monday 15 June
2. Roughly how many fortnights fit into one year?
a) 52
b) 26
c) 104
d) 12
Show answer
b) 26
