definitions

biennial

[ bahy-en-ee-uh l ]
/ baɪˈɛn i əl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR biennial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Also biyearly (for defs 1, 2).

happening every two years: biennial games.
lasting or enduring for two years: a biennial life cycle.
Botany. completing its normal term of life in two years, flowering and fruiting the second year, as beets or winter wheat.

noun

any event occurring once in two years.
Botany. a biennial plant.

RELATED WORDS

flower, shrub, tree, vine, grass, seedling, weed, herb, shoot, perennial, slip, annual, bush, cutting, sprout, greenery, creeper

Nearby words

bielsko-biała, bien entendu, bien hoa, bien-pensant, bienne, biennial, biennium, bienvenu, bienvenue, bienville, bienville, jean baptiste le moyne, sieur de

Origin of biennial

First recorded in 1615–25; bienni(um) + -al1
Related formsbi·en·ni·al·ly, adverb
Can be confusedbiannual biennial semiannual (see usage note at bi-1)

Usage note

See bi-1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for biennial

British Dictionary definitions for biennial

biennial

/ (baɪˈɛnɪəl) /

adjective

occurring every two years
lasting two yearsCompare biannual

noun

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 yearCompare annual (def. 3), perennial (def. 3)
an event that takes place every two years
Derived Formsbiennially, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for biennial

biennial

adj.

"lasting for two years" (1620s); "occurring every two years" (1750), from Latin biennium "two-year period," from bi- (see bi-) + annus "year" (see annual). The vowel change is "due to the Latin phonetic law according to which the unaccented and closed radical syllable of the second element of compounds, original -ă- becomes -ĕ-" [Klein]. The noun meaning "a biennial plant" is attested by 1770.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for biennial

biennial

[ bī-ĕn′ē-əl ]

Adjective

Completing a life cycle normally in two growing seasons.

Noun

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. Compare annual perennial.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.