EOW meaning in business: end of week
In business, EOW means end of week. Work due EOW should be finished by the time you leave on the last working day of the week, usually Friday. To the police, the same letters mean end of watch.
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EOW deadlines and their cousins
EOW meaning in an email
In a work email, EOW is short for end of week. For most people that’s Friday.
The how long until Friday clock shows what’s left of the week, down to the minute you finish.
EOW can fall on a different day:
- A four-day week moves EOW to Thursday.
- A sender in another time zone means Friday where they are. Where you are, that can be Thursday night or Saturday morning.
- A public holiday on Friday moves it to the last day the office is open.
Where the week ends, to the minute
EOW runs out at your usual finish time on Friday. Offices that count a late start to the minute also notice when you leave a few minutes early. Staying late to finish work due EOW gets no mention.
If your Friday ends at 5, our 5 pm countdown shows how many minutes of the week are left.
EOW, EOD, COB and COP
EOW gives you until the end of the week. The other three all mean today.
| Letters | What they mean |
|---|---|
| EOW | End of week, the last working day this week |
| EOD | End of day, the end of today’s working day |
| COB | Close of business, when the office or a financial market closes today |
| COP | Close of play, the British version, also when a day’s cricket or tennis stops |
Working from home moves none of these deadlines. On a WFH Friday, EOW still ends at your usual finish time.
EOW in policing
End of watch
In policing, EOW means end of watch, the end of an officer’s shift. One major dictionary lists that sense first. Written with a date under an officer’s name, EOW marks the day that officer was killed in the line of duty.
The earliest EOW on record
A 1989 finance manual
The oldest use of EOW for end of week found so far is in a 1989 finance manual from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. It spells the term out as “End-of-Week (EOW)”. EOW still has no entry in one big American dictionary. Our jargon dictionary lists it next to EOD and COB.
EOW on a Friday
The 4:45 pm EOW
An EOW request that lands at 4:45 pm on Friday is a request for your weekend. When you set an EOW deadline yourself, write the day and the hour, such as “Friday 3 pm”.
Friday 5 pm meeting invites
A Friday 5 pm invite books a meeting for the minute the week ends. To decline, thank the sender and say you’re off for the weekend. Your out-of-office message can answer whatever arrives after that.
An email with EOW in it
Subject: Q3 deck, final numbers
Hi Sam, I need the final Q3 numbers by
EOWFriday 3 pm. I present to the leadership team Monday at 9, and I’d like a weekend where I don’t open them.
EOW in a sentence
I'll have the draft to you EOW.
EOW works for the deck, Sakura, but my EOW is Thursday because I'm off Friday.
Ticket closed. The fix will be live EOW, depending on the release window.
The hiring manager promised a decision by EOW, Delphine. That was three Fridays ago.
Questions about EOW
What does EOW mean for a job?
In a hiring email, EOW is when they expect to decide or get back to you. "We'll have an answer by EOW" means by Friday. If Friday comes and goes in silence, a short follow-up on Monday morning is fair.
What does EOW mean in texting?
End of week, the same as in an email. In a work chat, "draft by EOW" asks for it before you log off on Friday. Ask for an hour if it matters, because the sender's Friday may end before yours.
How do you abbreviate end of week?
EOW, usually in capitals, as in "by EOW". It belongs to a family of deadline shorthands with EOD, end of day, and COB, close of business. For a client or anyone outside your team, write the day and the hour instead.
What is EOW in police?
End of watch, the end of a police officer's shift. On a memorial, EOW and a date mark the day an officer was killed on duty. At work, the same letters mean end of week.