anniversary
Americannoun
-
the yearly recurrence of the date of a past event.
the tenth anniversary of their marriage.
-
the celebration or commemoration of such a date.
adjective
-
returning or recurring each year; annual.
-
pertaining to an anniversary: anniv.
an anniversary gift.
noun
-
the date on which an event occurred in some previous year
a wedding anniversary
-
the celebration of this
adjective
-
of or relating to an anniversary
-
recurring every year, esp on the same date
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of anniversary
1200–50; Middle English anniversarie (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin ( diēs ) anniversāria anniversary (day), Latin anniversārius recurring yearly, equivalent to anni- (combining form of annus year) + vers ( us ) turned, past participle of vertere ( vert- turn + -tus past participle suffix) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
An anniversary marks the date on which an event happened — a five-year wedding anniversary occurs exactly five years after a wedding. When someone refers to "our anniversary," they are typically talking about the day they were married. News organizations regularly recognize the anniversaries of important people's births and deaths, plus anniversaries of significant news events and national tragedies, like Sept. 11 2001 or Dec. 7, 1941. This word comes from Latin; remember that annus means year and you can relate the word to annual. Sometimes the world is used more loosely, like when new couples celebrate their one-month anniversary.
Vocabulary lists containing anniversary
List 8
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 11–September 17, 2021
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 2–October 8, 2021
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Plans to loan it to London had been considered twice before: in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and in 1966 for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.
From Barron's • Jul. 10, 2026
Spice Girls star Melanie C has said the 30th anniversary of the band's debut single Wannabe - which fell on Wednesday - was a "very emotional day".
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026
On the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, I was reunited with the family I hadn’t seen in eight years, ever since my wife and children came to the U.S. to get out of harm’s way.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
DiMartino and Konietzko are great fans of Studio Ghibli’s “Princess Mononoke” and the Oscar-winning “Spirited Away,” which marks its 25th anniversary this year.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
That was the last anniversary I celebrated with my Shirley.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
