quadrennial
Americanadjective
-
occurring every four years.
a quadrennial festival.
-
of or lasting for four years.
a quadrennial period.
noun
adjective
-
occurring every four years
-
relating to or lasting four years
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quadrennial
1640–50; earlier quadriennial < Latin quadrienni ( um ) ( see quadrennium) + -al 1
Explanation
The U.S. presidential election is a quadrennial event, something that happens every four years. And because the word also means "lasting four years," you can say that the newly-elected President will serve a quadrennial term. While the "happening every four years" meaning is more common, you can use the word quadrennial in both ways. You might describe your high school years, ninth to twelfth grade, as a quadrennial, while also referring to your favorite quadrennial sporting event, Olympic figure skating. This word is from the Latin quadri-, "four," and -ennial, from annus, "year."
Vocabulary lists containing quadrennial
ann, enn
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quad, quar (four)
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quadr
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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.
But the particularities of the sport outside its elegant, digestible, quadrennial national context were always too byzantine to wrap my head around.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Fox and Telemundo are off to a blazing start in the TV ratings for the quadrennial soccer tournament, delivering big increases over the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Around the same time, England were getting their quadrennial shellacking in Australia.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Soccer fans all around the globe have used the experience of the quadrennial World Cup as a way to mark the stages of life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
I refer to his quadrennial appearance as a delegate in Republican National Conventions, where for a brief hour he enjoys the spotlight importance of a political supernumerary on the party stage.
From The Ballotless Victim of One-Party Governments The American Negro Academy, Occasional Papers No. 16 by Archibald Henry Grimké
Definitions 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.
