bipartisan

adjective

bi·par·ti·san (ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zən

-sən

-ˌzan,

chiefly British ˌbī-ˌpä-tə-ˈzan

Synonyms of bipartisan next

: of, relating to, or involving members of two parties

a bipartisan commission

specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties

bipartisan support for the bill

bipartisanism

(ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zə-ˌni-zəm

-sə-

noun

bipartisanship

(ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zən-ˌship

-sən-

noun

Did you know?

Bipartisan is a two-part word. The first element is the prefix bi-, which means "two"; the second is partisan, a word that traces through Middle French and north Italian dialect to the Latin part- or pars, meaning "part." Partisan itself has a long history as a word in English. It has been used as a noun in reference to a firm adherent to a party, faction, or cause (especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance), since the 16th century. The related adjective (meaning "of, relating to, or characteristic of a partisan") appeared in the 19th century, as did, after a space of some 50 years, the adjective bipartisan.

Examples of bipartisan in a Sentence

In his first Inaugural Address, Jefferson sounded a conciliatory, bipartisan note, averring that "we are all Republicans, we are all Federalists"—a trope copied in many inaugural addresses to follow. —

Sean Wilentz, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2009

Seasoned observers of Washington tend to dismiss such talk of national unity and bipartisan cooperation as meaningless political boilerplate … —

Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, 7 May 2007

Two recent national bipartisan blue-ribbon panels, the National Research Council Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children and the National Reading Panel, came to converging conclusions. —

Bennet A. Shawitz, New Republic, 6 Nov. 2000

The bill has bipartisan support.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The announcement also came days before the U.S. avoided a government shutdown as Congress reached a last-minute bipartisan deal. —

Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024 The legislation received bipartisan support, with Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Senator Marco Rubio both praising the bill. —

Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024 Ossoff sponsored the ombudsman bill, with bipartisan support, and it was passed and signed into law by President Joe Biden in July 2024. —

Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 24 Dec. 2024 Its all because the OAA, despite broad bipartisan congressional support, got caught up in a squabble over an emergency end-of-year spending bill between President-elect Trump and Elon Musk on one hand, and Capitol Hill Republican leaders on the other. —

Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bipartisan