annually
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of annually
First recorded in 1580–1600; annual ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
Something that happens annually occurs once a year, every year. If you vacation at the beach annually, you do it every summer. Many people send holiday cards annually, mailing stacks of them every December, and everyone celebrates a birthday annually. If your work performance is reviewed annually, your boss might consider giving you a raise each year. The adverb annually comes from the adjective annual, which is rooted in the Late Latin annualis, based on annus, or "year."
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.
Electricity demand is forecast to grow an average 2.9% annually in Thailand, 3.3% in Malaysia and 5.6% in Vietnam over the next decade, driven mainly by data centers and AI workloads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Direct on-site water consumption by data centers has been estimated at roughly 17 billion gallons annually.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Two years ago, five Americans were nominated for the female Ballon d’Or, which is presented annually to the best player in the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
It was estimated that the measures would stop 4,500 premature deaths annually.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Just four years after the end of the war, his company was shipping 60,000 pounds of “Genuine Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco” annually.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
