The words weak and week sound the same, but they have different meanings. In other words, weak and week are homophones.

The adjective weak means lacking in force, strength, power, or volume.

The noun week refers to a period of seven days.

Examples:

• "Too many times I hear after the fact, 'Gee, I wasn't expecting that question.' This is just a weak excuse for poor preparation."
  (Jeffrey Jacobi, How to Say It: Persuasive Presentations. Prentice Hall, 2006)
   

• "The wind alone came in, struggling with the weak flame in the coal-oil lamp."
  (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969)
• "The place is empty, the silent bar shadowy and the small tables looking rickety and weak without men sitting at them."
  (John Updike, Rabbit, Run. Knopf, 1960)
• "Unlike most babies, Stuart could walk as soon as he was born. When he was a week old he could climb lamps by shinnying up the cord."
  (E.B. White, Stuart Little. Harper, 1945)
• "He tried to keep up a good front, but his weak voice deteriorated as the weekwore on. Whenever he tried to call the company to attention, he screeched like a peahen."
  (Mark Busby, Fort Benning Blues. Texas Christian University Press, 2001)

 

Practice:

(a) We have a _____ off from school at the end of November.

(b) "'Well,' said her mother, 'one of the pigs is a runt. It's very small and _____, and it will never amount to anything.'"
(E.B. White, Charlotte's Web. Harper, 1952)

(c) "We are only as strong as we are united, as _____ as we are divided."
(J.K.

Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Scholastic, 2000)

(d) Blueberries will keep for about a _____ in the refrigerator, but they are best when used within a few days.
 
Answers to Practice Exercises

Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words

200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs