biennial
adjective
What do bimonthly and biweekly mean?: Usage Guide
Many people are puzzled about bimonthly and biweekly, which are often ambiguous because they are formed from two different senses of bi-: "occurring every two" and "occurring two times." This ambiguity has been in existence for nearly a century and a half and cannot be eliminated by the dictionary. The chief difficulty is that many users of these words assume that others know exactly what they mean, and they do not bother to make their context clear. So if you need bimonthly or biweekly, you should leave some clues in your context to the sense of bi- you mean. And if you need the meaning "twice a," you can substitute semi- for bi-. Biannual and biennial are usually differentiated.
Did you know?
Biennial conventions, celebrations, competitions, and sports events come every two years. Biennials are plants that live two years, bearing flowers and fruit only in the second year. (Carrots and sugar beets are two examples; since we're only interested in their roots, we don't wait another year to see their flower and fruit.) In contrast, semiannual means "twice a year". But no one can agree whether biweekly means "twice a week" or "every two weeks", and whether bimonthly means "twice a month" or "every two months". Maybe we should stop using both of them until we can decide.
Examples of biennial in a Sentence
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
In the weeks before a competition like the National Senior Games—a biennial event most recently held in Des Moines, Iowa, from July 24 to August 4—Meiler further dials in her preparation.
—Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 11 Sep. 2025
Harris was in town to address the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.’s biennial convention, which took place at the Indiana Convention Center.
—Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 11 Sep. 2025
The Vicenza Symposium, planned as a biennial event, serves as one of the few settings where jewelry manufacturing and artisan professionals can meet and share information in an industry where companies are loathe to share anything.
—Anthony Demarco, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for biennial
Cite this Entry
“Biennial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biennial. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
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biennial
adjective
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