triannual

American  

[trahy-an-yoo-uhl] / traɪˈæn yu əl /

adjective

1. done, occurring, issued, etc., three times a year.

2. triennial.

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noun

1. a triannual publication, contest, etc.

2. triennial.

Usage

What does triannual mean? Triannual is commonly used to mean one of two things: occurring once every three years or occurring three times per year.Triannual is a synonym of the less commonly used triennial, which can mean every three years or lasting for three years (though triannual is rarely if ever used in this second sense.)Yes, you can sometimes figure out what triannual means from the context of the sentence. But not always. Here’s the best (and maybe only) way to be perfectly clear: just say “three times a year” or “once every three years.”The adverb form of triannual is triannually.Triannual can also be used as a noun to refer to a triannual event or publication, or to a third anniversary, as in Welcome to the third triannual! Examples:

• The triannual tournament has been held every three years since 1916.
• This is a triannual meeting—we have it in February, June, and October.

Other Word Forms

• triannually adverb

Etymology

Origin of triannual

First recorded in 1630–40; tri- + annual

Example Sentences

Although, as she points out, “I have friends who stay at home with their kids and they also have a triannual sob, so I think we should call it even.”

From The Guardian • May 11, 2019

Its most ambitious program is St. Joseph Center's Codetalk — a triannual, 15-week course intended to provide women with unstable employment histories sufficient tech skills to land an entry-level job making websites.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2016

But I have friends who stay home with their kids and they also have a triannual sob, so I think we should call it even.”

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2011

When the organisation meets for its triannual shindig between December 5th and 10th in Cartagena, Colombia, its board intends to finalise plans to introduce many more “top-level domains”, as these suffixes are called.

From Economist • Dec. 2, 2010

Now the New American Library, which published New World Writing in that era, has revived the paperback-book magazine as a triannual bloom.

From Time Magazine Archive