shark week

noun

"shark-week" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shark week” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The week during which someone menstruates.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shark-week · shark week · English

shark week · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for shark week
PropertyValue
Headwordshark week
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shark week” in English

shark weekranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shark week is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The week during which someone menstruates.".

shark week doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: A jocular reference to Shark Week, an annual week-long marathon of shark-related programming on Discovery Channel, which, like a menstrual period, is bloody. The correct English form is shark week, spelled S-H-A-R-K- -W-E-E-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    The week during which someone menstruates.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shark week appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. There are several ways to green your Shark Week, ranging from bare-minimum "shucks, why not?" consciousness to Burning Man aggro hippie.
  2. If you've booked a hotel room, STAIN, and it's shark week for the wife, or a certain former senator drops in (drops out?) when you have anal sex, there's always the option of bringing your own santorum- and/or menstrual-blood-coloured/stained towels from home.

Etymology

A jocular reference to Shark Week, an annual week-long marathon of shark-related programming on Discovery Channel, which, like a menstrual period, is bloody.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shark week"?
"shark week" is spelled S-H-A-R-K- -W-E-E-K.
What does "shark week" mean?
As a noun, "shark week" means: The week during which someone menstruates.
What is the origin of the word "shark week"?
A jocular reference to Shark Week, an annual week-long marathon of shark-related programming on Discovery Channel, which, like a menstrual period, is bloody. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list