Biannual Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Commonly Confused

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Compare Meaning

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms biannual American [bahy-an-yoo-uhl] / baɪˈæn yu əl /

adjective

1. occurring twice a year; semiannual.

2. occurring every two years; biennial.

biannual British / baɪˈænjʊəl /

adjective

1. occurring twice a year Compare biennial

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does biannual mean? Biannual can mean two things: occurring once every two years or occurring twice per year.Biannual is a synonym of biyearly, which can also be used to mean every two years or twice per year. (Biyearly can also mean “lasting for two years,” but this meaning is rarely used.)The adverb form of biannual is biannually.Examples:

• The Olympic Games are biannual, meaning they happen every two years.
• This is a biannual meeting—we have it in April and October.

Commonly Confused

See bi- 1.

Other Word Forms

• biannually adverb

Etymology

Origin of biannual

First recorded in 1875–80; bi- 1 + annual

Compare meaning

How does biannual compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• biannual vs. semiannual

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I haven’t seen a game for the last 46 years,” the lexicographer said, though he makes a biannual exception for the second halves of the Super Bowl and college football’s national championship game.

From Los Angeles Times

Skipton Group commissioned research for its biannual Home Affordability Index, compiled by Oxford Economics.

From BBC

The occasion for Metallica’s visit to Inglewood’s 6,000-capacity YouTube Theater is the group’s biannual Helping Hands benefit concert, which aims to raise money to fight hunger and to support technical education.

From Los Angeles Times

Though he did not go into detail, Newsom said additional accountability would be through “a framework of expectation and reporting that would no longer be at a quarterly or biannual basis but a monthly basis.”

From Los Angeles Times

The collection was part of the Sotheby's Fine Jewels biannual sale, which took place on 10 October, with proceeds going to Dame Shirley's chosen charities.

From BBC

Related Words

• semiannual

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.