annual

[ an-yoo-uhl ]
See synonyms for: annualannually on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of, for, or pertaining to a year; yearly: annual salary.

  2. occurring or returning once a year: an annual celebration.

  1. Botany. living only one growing season, as beans or corn.

  2. performed or executed during a year: the annual course of the sun.

  3. Entomology. living or lasting but one season or year, as certain insects or colonies of insects.

noun
  1. Botany. a plant living only one year or season.

  2. a book, report, etc., published annually.

Origin of annual

1
1350–1400; <Late Latin annuālis, equivalent to Latin annu(us) yearly (derivative of annus circuit of the sun, year) + -ālis-al1; replacing Middle English annuel<Anglo-French <Latin

Other words from annual

  • an·nu·al·ly, adverb
  • in·ter·an·nu·al, adjective
  • in·ter·an·nu·al·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with annual

Words Nearby annual

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use annual in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for annual

annual

/ (ˈænjʊəl) /


adjective
  1. occurring, done, etc, once a year or every year; yearly: an annual income

  2. lasting for a year: an annual subscription

noun
  1. a plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year: Compare perennial (def. 3), biennial (def. 3)

  2. a book, magazine, etc, published once every year

Origin of annual

1
C14: from Late Latin annuālis, from Latin annuus yearly, from annus year

Derived forms of annual

  • annually, adverb

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

Scientific definitions for annual

annual

[ ănyōō-əl ]


Adjective
  1. Completing a life cycle in one growing season.

Noun
  1. An annual plant. Annuals germinate, blossom, produce seed, and die in one growing season. They are common in environments with short growing seasons. Most desert plants are annuals, germinating and flowering after rainfall. Many common weeds, wild flowers, garden flowers, and vegetables are annuals. Examples of annuals include tomatoes, corn, wheat, sunflowers, petunias, and zinnias. Compare biennial perennial.

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