biennial

American  

[bahy-en-ee-uhl] / baɪˈɛn i əl /

adjective

1. happening every two years.

   biennial games.

2. lasting or enduring for two years.

   a biennial life cycle.

3. Botany. completing its normal term of life in two years, flowering and fruiting the second year, as beets or winter wheat.

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noun

• biennials
  plural

1. any event occurring once in two years.

2. Botany. a biennial plant.

biennial British  

/ baɪˈɛnɪəl /

adjective

1. occurring every two years

2. lasting two years Compare biannual

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noun

1. a plant, such as the carrot, that completes its life cycle within two years, developing vegetative storage parts during the first year and flowering and fruiting in its second year Compare annual perennial

2. an event that takes place every two years

biennial Scientific  

/ bī-ĕn′ē-əl /

1. Completing a life cycle normally in two growing seasons.

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1. A biennial plant. In the first year, biennials normally produce a short stem, a rosette of leaves, and a fleshy root that acts as food supply. In the second season, biennials blossom, produce seed, use up their food supply, and die. Carrots, parsnips, and sugar beets are examples of biennials.

2. Compare annual perennial

Commonly Confused

See bi- ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• biennially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• biennials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of biennial

First recorded in 1615–25; bienni(um) + -al ¹

Explanation

If you’re just as fanatical about the luge as you are about beach volleyball, you probably know that the Olympic Games are on a biennial schedule. Every two years, either the Summer or the Winter Olympics takes place. Don't mistake biennial for biannual, which means “twice a year.” Annoying? Yes, but other words containing the prefix bi- are even more troublesome. For example, bimonthly can mean either “twice a month” or “every two months.” To avoid confusion, you can use the prefix semi- to mean “twice during a certain time period.” So, it’s correct to say that the Olympics occurs on a biennial schedule, not on a semiannual (or biannual) one.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

biennial biennials

The occasion was the “Rim of the Pacific” exercise, a biennial event that is the world’s largest international maritime drill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Participating countries set up pavilions in Venice, and the art biennial typically attracts more than 600,000 visitors over its seven-month run.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

Google’s stake in SpaceX now stands at 6.11% of the aerospace giant’s shares, according to a biennial report the company filed with Alaska’s Commerce Department last week, which was initially reported by Bloomberg.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

In 2021, Mr. Wash won the audience award at the Hammer Museum’s “Made in L.A.” biennial and attracted the attention of gallerist Jeffrey Deitch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

Once the first two crates were completed, I carried them down to the art museum for consideration in their upcoming juried biennial.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Very often, my work has been associated with velocity and acceleration of art—more shows, more biennials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

One must feel sympathy for the curators who plan biennials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

The Hammer contributed 80 works collected over the 12 years of its “Made in L.A.” biennials, and16 more pieces were added from “Made in L.A. 2023” by curators from all three museums.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024

Five artists are over age 70, unusual for typically youth-oriented biennials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2023

The bark of the annual trees is generally pale; that of the biennials, dark.

From Trees Worth Knowing by Julia Ellen Rogers

Related Words

• flower
• grass
• herb
• seedling
• shrub
• tree
• vine
• weed