What does EOW stand for?
EOW has two common meanings. The first, according to NanoGlobals, is “end of week.” This term is usually used by managers or other superiors to assign deadlines to subordinates via email. This stems from the original abbreviation EOD, meaning “end of day.” EOD was initially used in day trading to signify the closing of the markets. However, it has expanded to give a deadline for the end of the current day.
There is some back and forth on whether the term EOW should mean the end of the work week on Friday, or the technical end of week at midnight on Sunday. If a supervisor wants the task completed by the end of day on Friday, they could also consider using the abbreviation EOBW, standing for “end of business week.” Acronym Finder states that the term EOW is used in both business & finance as well as the military and government.
The second way in which EOW is commonly used is to mean “end of watch,” according to Urban Dictionary. This is used in the military, security, or law enforcement to mean either the end of a shift, or to signify the date on which an officer was killed in the line of duty.
Many choose to celebrate the life of those killed in the line of duty by preserving their memory in a plaque that details the officer’s rank and biography alongside their EOW. These are sold on websites like Badge Frame to commemorate the fallen.
Less common phrases abbreviated EOW from Acronym Finder, Abbreviations, and The Free Dictionary are below. These are likely not the common meanings one will see for EOW, but they may be used in more specific circ*mstances as other slang terms.
- Envelope of Water
- Escape of Water (Insurance)
- Every Other Week
- Engineering Order-Wire
- End of Well Report (Oil Exploration)
- End of World
- Energy-Over-Weight
- Economic Offences Wing (India)
- End of Waste
- Extended Operator Workplace
- Engineer on Watch
- End of Workday
- Elektro Ontvangst Weekend
- Every Other Wednesday
- Elements of Writing (Style Guide)
- Empire of War (Gaming Clan)
- Evolution of Wrestling (Gaming Clan)
- Equal Opportunities for Women (Australia)
How can EOW be used in sentence?
EOW will be used in different ways depending on if it is referring to end of week or end of watch. It will even be used in two different ways for end of watch, either signifying the end of a shift or an officer’s date of passing.
Below is an example of using EOW to mean end of week. Bill is Martha’s assistant, and the two of them work at a marketing firm. They are going over a list of tasks Bill has to complete, and it is a Wednesday.
Bill: So I have the presentation, the report, and the accounting logs still to be completed. When do you need these done by?
Martha: The logs are urgent, those need to be done by EOD. The presentation isn’t until next month, so please complete a draft in two weeks and I’ll give you notes. The report needs to be done by EOW.
Bill: Great, I’ll get started on those.
Martha: Thanks!
Here, Martha uses EOW to give Bill a deadline for his different tasks. EOW can also be used to describe the end of a shift. Tara and Willis are security guards at a local mall. They are also both students at a local community college.
Willis: When do you think you’re going to do the assignment for Professor Wright? It looks like a doozy.
Martha: I’ll probably start it EOW, and hopefully finish this weekend.
Willis: Nice, I’ll probably start mine EOW as well.
Martha: Why don’t we stay and work on it in the breakroom in case we get stuck?
Willis: Sounds great!
Here, they each use EOW to refer to the end of their shift. Finally, Sarah’s friend Lindsey comes to her house for the first time and sees a plaque commemorating Sarah’s father in the living room.
Lindsey: That’s a lovely plaque. I’m sorry about your father.
Sarah: Thank you. His EOW was five years ago but I still miss him every day.
Here, Sarah uses EOW to refer to the date on which her father was killed in the line of duty as an officer. EOW can be used in a variety of professional and personal circ*mstances depending on the meaning.
What are synonyms for EOW?
There are many different ways in which someone can refer to the end of the week that may not be found in a thesaurus. There are examples of this below, in which a manager is asking for something to be completed by the end of the week.
- By end of day Friday
- By 5PM on Friday
- By closing Friday
- By the end of your shift on Friday
- By Friday evening
- Before the weekend
“End of watch” also has a multitude of synonyms for both the end of a shift and the date of death.
- End of shift
- Clock out
- Clock off
- End of day
- Punch out
- Date of death
- Date of passing
- Dying day
Overall, EOW can either stand for “end of week” or “end of watch.” For the former, this is typically used by a manager or superior to assign deadlines for different tasks. For the latter, this is used in police reports to signify either the end of a shift or the date on which an officer was killed in the line of duty.
Sources:
- https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=EOW
- https://nanoglobals.com/glossary/eow-end-of-week/#:~:text=It%20was%20originally%20a%20term,the%20end%20of%20the%20week
- https://www.acronymfinder.com/End-Of-Week-(EOW).html
- https://www.abbreviations.com/EOW
- https://www.acronymfinder.com/EOW.html
- https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/EOW
- http://www.badgeframe.com/fallen.html
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
