bicentennial
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or in honor of a 200th anniversary.
bicentennial celebration; a bicentennial exposition.
-
consisting of or lasting 200 years.
a bicentennial period.
-
occurring every 200 years.
the bicentennial return of a comet.
noun
-
a 200th anniversary.
The United States had its bicentennial in 1976.
-
a celebration of such an anniversary.
Commonly Confused
See bi- 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bicentennial
First recorded in 1880–85; bi- 1 + centennial
Explanation
The two-hundredth anniversary of something is its bicentennial. In 1976, the United States celebrated its bicentennial, two hundred years after adopting the Declaration of Independence. The word bicentennial adds the prefix bi-, or "two," to centennial, which is rooted in the Latin centum, or "one hundred." The U.S. is a relatively young country, so we've only celebrated a few bicentennials, including the two-hundredth birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. You can use this word as an adjective too: "Next year is the bicentennial anniversary of our ancestors' arrival in North America."
Vocabulary lists containing bicentennial
Perfect Ten: Dec, Cent, Mille
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dec, cent, mille
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ann, enn
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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.
"I came to the US in 1975 from Vietnam and... I was here for the bicentennial," Dang told AFP, noting she drove 12 hours from Florida to attend festivities.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
By 1976, mom and dad had split, and as the bicentennial approached, it looked like I wouldn’t get to see the usual wild display of pyrotechnics and potential loss of limbs.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
The bicentennial quarter, minted for the occasion, still occasionally turns up in pocket change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Yet despite several of these being substantial works by some of our most noted and venturesome composers, few bicentennial commissions have survived.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
We found lots of coins—mostly new money but also some buffalo nickels and a silver dollar from the bicentennial.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
