annual

American  

[an-yoo-uhl] / ˈæn yu əl /

adjective

1. of, for, or pertaining to a year; yearly.

   annual salary.

2. occurring or returning once a year.

   an annual celebration.

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

4. performed or executed during a year.

   the annual course of the sun.

5. 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.

annual British  

/ 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 biennial

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

annual Scientific  

/ ăn′yo̅o̅-əl /

1. Completing a life cycle in one growing season.

---

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.

2. Compare biennial perennial

Other Word Forms

• annually adverb
• interannual adjective
• interannually adverb

Etymology

Origin of annual

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

Example Sentences

The 18% compound annual interest rate was also designed to ensure TSG would be first in line for any payout if the company was sold or floated.

From BBC

Google’s cloud unit had just wrapped up its big annual “Accelerate” show in Dubai last Friday when—hours later—the missiles and drones started flying.

From The Wall Street Journal

To look at this myself, I followed the methodology of a recent paper that used the Current Population Survey’s annual March supplement to look at individuals’ job movement within a given year.

From MarketWatch

Apple’s business exploded with the introduction of the iPhone and the App Store, with annual sequels that increased market share and profits.

From The Wall Street Journal

The revised prospectus promptly added a table indicating that investors would incur 1.06% in annual “acquired fund fees and expenses”—more than doubling the reported annual costs to 1.81%.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• yearlong