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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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.
Annual average earnings growth for the quarter was 4.8% for the public sector and 3% for the private sector.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
Annual reports seen by BBC North East and Cumbria Investigations show at least 400 babies were adopted from St Monica's, which operated from 1918 until its closure in 1970.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
Annual recurring revenue is an important gauge for software companies, representing the predictable and annualized value of recurring subscription contracts.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
Annual growth slowed to 2.5%, from 2.6% in the prior quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
So we all went to the Annual Ballard Paper Mill Harvest-Time Employee Picnic, because my father wanted to win a baseball signed by Babe Ruth.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
