bicentennial

[bahy-sen-ten-ee-uhl]

adjective

1. pertaining to or in honor of a 200th anniversary.

   bicentennial celebration; a bicentennial exposition.

2. consisting of or lasting 200 years.

   a bicentennial period.

3. occurring every 200 years.

   the bicentennial return of a comet.

noun

1. a 200th anniversary.

   The United States had its bicentennial in 1976.

2. a celebration of such an anniversary.

Confusables Note

See bi- ¹.

Other Word Forms

• bicentennially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bicentennial¹

First recorded in 1880–85; bi- ¹ + centennial

Example Sentences

"But the country moved forward, celebrated its bicentennial, and moved beyond its violent divides. It will do so again."

Read more on BBC

The Great America branding, both for the Santa Clara park and its Midwestern counterpart, was a nod to their opening dates: 1976, the nation’s bicentennial.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In March, In Our DNA SC research coordinators collected more than 30 DNA samples at a bicentennial event in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where more than 60% of residents identify as Black.

Read more on Salon

Ahead of the bicentennial, Georgia’s oldest city had early 18,000 hotel rooms nearly sold out for the weekend.

Read more on Seattle Times

In the floor lay a time capsule, a measure of the owner’s faith in the future, to be opened on the paper’s bicentennial: Dec. 4, 2081.

Read more on Los Angeles Times