annual
Americanadjective
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of, for, or pertaining to a year; yearly.
annual salary.
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occurring or returning once a year.
an annual celebration.
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Botany. living only one growing season, as beans or corn.
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performed or executed during a year.
the annual course of the sun.
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Entomology. living or lasting but one season or year, as certain insects or colonies of insects.
noun
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annuals
plural
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Botany. a plant living only one year or season.
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a book, report, etc., published annually.
adjective
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occurring, done, etc, once a year or every year; yearly
an annual income
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lasting for a year
an annual subscription
noun
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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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
When something is annual, it happens once a year. An annual holiday party should be a time for fun, but it also can be a sad yearly reminder of the passage of time. An annual event happens every year: "I always forget to take sunglasses to my annual eye exam and am left wearing those horrible disposable shades." Annual earnings are made over the course of a year: "His annual income is on a steady decline." And an annual plant lives for only a year: "My neighbor Shirley always plants the most garishly bright annuals instead of more subdued perennials." Whether it's eye exams, income, or plants, you can expect to see something annual again in about 365 days.
Vocabulary lists containing annual
Dirty Words: The Language of Gardening
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New Year, New Words: Vocabulary for January
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Academy Awards, List 1
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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:
The UK's first annual national day for those impacted by terrorism was marked today in a ceremony that took place in London.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The head of the Catholic Church will then head to Rimini, a popular seaside city on the Adriatic, for the annual gathering of Communion and Liberation, a Christian group.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
It’s late summer, just weeks before we get to our annual flood of new technologies and innovations that set the stage for the year ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The annual federal gift-tax exclusion limit in 2026 is $19,000 for an individual.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Two-thirds of people detained in jails report annual incomes under $12,000 prior to arrest.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Where there had been a jungle of weeds and vines, perennials and annuals bloomed thanks to avid volunteer gardeners and contributions from locals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
The iconic Blue Peter annuals began to appear with their mixture of entertaining but also informative articles.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
Koons said he’s excited to use native succulents and drought-tolerant plants as well as perennials and annuals that will provide a richness of color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025
These plant species include ferns, herbs, shrubs, vines and trees, annuals and perennials, grasses and forbs, plants of the tropics, subtropics, temperate and boreal zones, and conifers.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2023
Their front windows were full of dresses, handbags, children’s annuals, and when you went inside, a sweet stale smell.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
