What Does “Every 3 Days” Mean? (Helpful Examples)

Some expressions in the English language might sound simple, but get more complicated when you think about them. Such is the case with the phrase “every 3 days”. Does it mean that you do something on the third day? Or on the fourth day? This article will answer these questions.

What Does “Every 3 Days” Mean?

The phrase “every 3 days” refers to a period of three days that happens every three days after the period starts. So you would do something every three days on the first day, then on the fourth, then on the seventh, so on and so forth.

This is the sort of phrase that tends to confuse people, because you’re unsure if the phrase refers to doing something on the third day or on the fourth day.

However, the truth is that the correct answer is that the phrase refers to doing something on the fourth day, because the three days are the period in between.

If something was done on the third day, and also the action presumably started on the first day, then that would be a period of every two days, because that’s the gap between the days.

Therefore, because we’re doing an action on day one and on day four, that’s a period of three days, and therefore you’re doing the action every three days.

What Does “Take a Pill Every 3 Days” Mean?

“Take a pill every 3 days” refers to consuming pills every 3 days, meaning that you start taking the pill on the first day, and then take a second pill on the fourth day. Afterwards, you’ll consume a pill on the seventh and on the tenth day, and continue onward.

Many medications or doctors will tell you to take a pill every 3 days, or every specific amount of days in general. The count starts on the day after you started taking the pill.

This can get confusing, but the basic truth of it all is that you’re counting from the day after when you took the pill, and taking the next pill on day three of that count.

This is the sort of phrase that you should really analyze to make sure that you fully know what it means, in order for you to not consume the pills at a mistaken pace.

You can also always ask your doctor to fully explain what they mean by “take a pill every three days” in order to fully make sure that your understanding of the phrase matches theirs.

How to Use “Every 3 Days” In a Sentence

“Every 3 days” is the sort of phrase that can actually be fairly useful in your daily life, and is therefore worth learning about just because of that fact alone. Here we have compiled some example sentences that will teach you how to use “every 3 days” in any context:

1. Every 3 days I go to the park to jog, which is very good for my personal health.
2. He comes to the office every 3 days to check on our ongoing projects, and he gives us advice.
3. Every 3 days I will send you a new email reminding you to forward me the necessary documents.
4. She said that every 3 days a new sign of illness will show up, so we should take him to the vet.
5. Roughly every 3 days a new meteorological phenomenon will manifest itself in the night sky.
6. You have to do your arm exercises at least every 3 days, though it’s better if its even faster.
7. Every 3 days I will send you a new letter with a new poem, until you’re finally able to reply.

“Every 3 Days” – Synonyms

The expression “every 3 days” is very useful to convey things happening at a specific pace, but it’s not the only way to express this idea. Here are some synonyms for this phrase:

• Twice per week
• With two days in between each action
• Thrice per week
• Ten times per month
• Leaving two days of rest

Final Thoughts

“Every 3 days” is an expression that refers to something happening once every 3 days. This is a period that starts the day after the action takes place, and happens consistently. It’s important to get a clear understanding of what “every 3 days” means.