bipartisan
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does bipartisan mean? Bipartisan means including two parties or factions, especially ones that typically oppose each other. Bipartisan is used in the context of political systems that have two dominant parties. Bipartisan is most often used to describe actions or solutions intended to counteract partisan politics, which refers to a situation in which members of each party vote along party lines and refuse to compromise. Example: Approving the budget before the deadline will take a bipartisan effort.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bipartisan
First recorded in 1905–10; bi- 1 + partisan 1
Explanation
If something is bipartisan, it has the support of two political parties that normally don’t agree on much. You might read about a bipartisan plan to improve the school system where you live. The word bipartisan is easy to figure out when you break it apart: bi-, meaning “two,” plus partisan, meaning "supporter of a party." So something that’s bipartisan involves two parties finding enough common ground to support the same thing. A key aspect of something that’s bipartisan is that the two parties involved typically hold opposing views about the best way to do things, so a bipartisan agreement is one that likely involved a lot of effort, compromise, and cooperation.
Vocabulary lists containing bipartisan
It Takes Two: Bi
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
One Nation, Under Vocabulary: Political Parlance
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Congress is considering a handful of bipartisan proposals that would help solve those problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
A recently passed bipartisan federal law attempts to cut red tape to make it easier to build housing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The bipartisan Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act would move Medicare Advantage prior authorizations to an electronic system and require quicker response times and greater transparency from insurers.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
President Donald Trump has said he will stop using US taxpayer funds to pay for television ads he has fronted, following bipartisan pushback.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But the early letters and leaks out of Monticello indicated that he was in fact disposed to agree and consider a bipartisan political alliance grounded in the personal trust of the once-great collaboration.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
