bicentennial
[bahy-sen-ten-ee-uh l]
- pertaining to or in honor of a 200th anniversary: bicentennial celebration; a bicentennial exposition.
- consisting of or lasting 200 years: a bicentennial period.
- occurring every 200 years: the bicentennial return of a comet.
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- a 200th anniversary: The United States had its bicentennial in 1976.
- a celebration of such an anniversary.
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Also especially British, bicentenary.
Origin of bicentennial
Usage note
See bi-1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bicentennial
Contemporary Examples
Williams worked with the company again for the 1999 film Bicentennial Man.
And Ralph Lauren received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal.
Annie Leibovitz Bailed on Kimye Wedding; Chloe Sevigny Hates ModelingThe Fashion Beast Team
June 18, 2014
“It was on the bicentennial: 4th of July 1976,” Martinez recalls.
Cliff Martinez’s Journey From Red Hot Chili Peppers to Composer of ‘Drive’ and ‘Spring Breakers’Marlow Stern
March 21, 2013
Biographer Paula Byrne, author of The Real Jane Austen, celebrates the bicentennial of the beloved novel.
I grew up in Massachusetts, where the Bicentennial was a spectacularly big deal.
Historical Examples
Let us engrave it now in each of our hearts as we begin our Bicentennial.
There is excitement over bicentennial celebration, and I always find something of interest in what is daily occurring.
Letters and Literary Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden, v. 2Samuel J. Tilden
I believe that we can make the years leading to our Bicentennial the best four years in American history.
As we begin our Bicentennial, America is still one of the youngest nations in recorded history.
Word Origin and History for bicentennial
also bi-centennial, 1843 (adj.), 1871 (noun), American English, from bi- + centennial (q.v.). In rivalry with bicentenary (1831) which seems to have been the more common word in Britain.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper