bipartisan

American  

[bahy-pahr-tuh-zuhn] / baɪˈpɑr tə zən /

adjective

1. representing, characterized by, or including members from two parties or factions.

   Government leaders hope to achieve a bipartisan foreign policy.

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bipartisan British  

/ baɪˈpɑːtɪˌzæn, ˌbaɪpɑːtɪˈzæn /

adjective

1. consisting of or supported by two political parties

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Usage

What does bipartisan mean? Bipartisan means including two parties or factions, especially ones that typically oppose each other. Bipartisan is used in the context of political systems that have two dominant parties. Bipartisan is most often used to describe actions or solutions intended to counteract partisan politics, which refers to a situation in which members of each party vote along party lines and refuse to compromise. Example: Approving the budget before the deadline will take a bipartisan effort.

Other Word Forms

• bipartisanism
  noun
• bipartisanship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bipartisan

First recorded in 1905–10; bi- ¹ + partisan ¹

Explanation

If something is bipartisan, it has the support of two political parties that normally don’t agree on much. You might read about a bipartisan plan to improve the school system where you live. The word bipartisan is easy to figure out when you break it apart: bi-, meaning “two,” plus partisan, meaning "supporter of a party." So something that’s bipartisan involves two parties finding enough common ground to support the same thing. A key aspect of something that’s bipartisan is that the two parties involved typically hold opposing views about the best way to do things, so a bipartisan agreement is one that likely involved a lot of effort, compromise, and cooperation.

Example Sentences

Bipartisan legislation that would require car manufacturers to keep the AM band in their dashboards is moving forward.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

The national deficit has already increased by more than $1.1 trillion this year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Bipartisan efforts are in motion to limit or ban External link many of these types of transactions, following state efforts across the country.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Bipartisan body would address national security and ethics questions, like a similar cybersecurity panel that helped set U.S. policy, lawmakers say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

We must be willing to work in a bipartisan way and look at new ideas, including the upcoming report of the Bipartisan Medicare Commission.

From State of the Union Address by Clinton, William Jefferson