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sesquicentennial

American  
[ses-kwi-sen-ten-ee-uhl] / ˌsɛs kwɪ sɛnˈtɛn i əl /

adjective

  1. pertaining to or marking the completion of a period of 150 years.


noun

  1. a 150th anniversary or its celebration.

sesquicentennial British  
/ ˌsɛskwɪsɛnˈtɛnɪəl /

adjective

  1. of or relating to a period of 150 years

"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

noun

  1. a period or cycle of 150 years

  2. a 150th anniversary or its celebration

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of sesquicentennial

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80; sesqui- + centennial

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.

Calvin Coolidge appeared on a limited-edition coin for America’s sesquicentennial in 1926.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

It’s the sesquicentennial of Western Australia, and everyone on Tony and Judy’s cul de sac is excited.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2024

You could see this at the Sievierodonetsk library, where last year they celebrated the sesquicentennial of Lesya Ukrainka, Ukraine’s great modernist poet and playwright.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2022

You know the rest: Days before the show’s planned opening, the coronavirus pandemic forced this museum and every other in New York to shut down, and turned the Met’s sesquicentennial into an annus horribilis.

From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2020

In the fall of that year minor repairs were made to the locomotive so that it might be used in the sesquicentennial celebration at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

From The 'Pioneer': Light Passenger Locomotive of 1851 United States Bulletin 240, Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, paper 42, 1964 by White, John H.

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