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Let's say I have a series of things...

XXX

...and I'm putting something else between each one:

XYXYX

Is there a verb for this? For example, between every workweek (X) there is a weekend (Y). Possible sentence: "Workweeks are _____ed with/by weekends."

The closest word I came up with is intersperse, but this seems to have a connotation of haphazardness or randomness (Oxford definition: to "scatter among or between other things; place here and there"). "Workweeks are interspersed with weekends" suggests a certain randomness to the occurrence of weekends, whereas I want to convey that a Y has been consistently placed between every X. Is there a word for this?

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    Workweeks are alternated with weekends – user067531 Jan 23 '18 at 20:02
  • One or more Y is inserted in the sequence. – Weather Vane Jan 23 '18 at 20:07
  • I get the X and Y example, but why the need to explain what a weekend is? It is like saying "between every sleep I am awake". – Weather Vane Jan 23 '18 at 20:09
  • @WeatherVane: Thanks, but I'm looking for something more specific than "inserted." The workweek/weekend example was only for illustration as an example of a Y placed between every X. – J.L Jan 23 '18 at 20:18
  • I think you need a different sample sentence. Workweeks are segmented by weekends. – jxh Jan 23 '18 at 22:44
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I think I found the word I was looking for: interleave.

  1. (transitive) To insert (pages, which are normally blank) between the pages of a book.
  2. (transitive) To intersperse (something) at regular intervals between the parts of a thing or between items in a group.

Source: Wiktionary

This has the connotation I was looking for: that of interspersing a Y between every X (as in definition 1: a blank page between every page of a book).

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  • This doesn't sound idiomatic for non-concrete entities. And there are just three Google hits for the more general "days are interleaved". None for "weeks are interleaved". If you're going to ask-and-answer-immediately, make sure you do all the necessary research first. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 23 '18 at 21:41
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In this context, is the solid word "workweek" the preferred term? The phrase "working week" is used far more often.

You could use singular nouns and say "After each working week there is a weekend". Or, if you need plurals and a verb, you could say "Working weeks alternate with weekends".

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