anniversary
Americannoun
-
anniversaries
plural
-
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
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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.
See Examples For:
Ukraine’s independence day is Aug. 24, marking the 35th anniversary of the restoration of its independence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“The Great American Road Trip” was conceived as a travelogue, after a fashion, celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is part of a belated celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, and the event is expected to attract about 140,000 people on each day of the weekend.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
We caught up with him to talk about the special anniversary, honoring D’Angelo at the Grammys, and making new music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
A bunch of his parents’ friends had decided the family needed to get away on the anniversary, if you could call it that.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
The CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales, Ciara Bergman, said "anniversaries are known to be a particularly difficult time" and the "right" support is "vitally important".
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
The orchestra has never been much for anniversaries or holiday music, but it clearly is this season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Xi also attended celebrations for major anniversaries of Beijing’s system of granting nominal political autonomy to Tibet and Xinjiang, becoming the first paramount leader to do so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The spectacular staging builds loyalty, with clients returning later for anniversaries or family stays, she said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
And so we sat over our coffee, as one should on anniversaries, and looked back—back to the time when Mama was alive, and beyond.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
