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View synonyms for biennial

biennial

[ bahy-en-ee-uhl ]

adjective

  1. happening every two years:

    biennial games.

  2. lasting or enduring for two years:

    a biennial life cycle.

  3. Botany. completing its normal term of life in two years, flowering and fruiting the second year, as beets or winter wheat.


noun

  1. any event occurring once in two years.
  2. Botany. a biennial plant.

biennial

/ baɪˈɛnɪəl /

adjective

  1. occurring every two years
  2. lasting two years Compare biannual


noun

  1. a plant, such as the carrot, that completes its life cycle within two years, developing vegetative storage parts during the first year and flowering and fruiting in its second year Compare annual perennial
  2. an event that takes place every two years

biennial

/ bī-ĕnē-əl /

Adjective

  1. Completing a life cycle normally in two growing seasons.


Noun

  1. A biennial plant. In the first year, biennials normally produce a short stem, a rosette of leaves, and a fleshy root that acts as food supply. In the second season, biennials blossom, produce seed, use up their food supply, and die. Carrots, parsnips, and sugar beets are examples of biennials.
  2. Compare annual

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Confusables Note

See bi- 1.

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Derived Forms

  • biˈennially, adverb

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Other Words From

  • bi·en·ni·al·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of biennial1

First recorded in 1615–25; bienni(um) + -al 1

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Example Sentences

In 1974, three-quarters of Americans belonged to a membership organization such as a veteran’s group or a social club, according to the General Social Survey, a biennial national poll.

The former is used to select teams for international competitions like the biennial World Athletics Cross Country Championships and its race distances are determined accordingly.

So perhaps The Style Invitational’s biennial “joint legislation” contest, Week 1419, will give them — and us — something to smile about, and an introduction to their fellow freshmen.

Living for two years, each biennial plant forms a rosette of leaves during the first year of life, and a 3- to 8-foot tall flower stalk with yellow flowers during its second and final year of life.

Efforts to elect new LGBTQ members of Congress are underscored by the recent release of the Human Rights Campaign’s biennial congressional scorecard, for which a record number of 228 members of Congress earned a perfect “100” score.

If anything, Finley wants the Whitney Houston Biennial to inspire both the artists and the viewers.

PERFORMA—the nearly month-long biennial celebrating the multi-faceted realm of performance art—is back for its fifth installment.

Those are results of the biennial Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey of public opinion on foreign policy (PDF).

Unfortunately, what it shows is that contemporary art no longer suits a standard biennial.

At the Biennial, only a very few artworks escape to stand on their own.

It is a biennial plant, with fleshy lobed wavy leaves that are covered with bluish bloom, and a fleshy cylindrical root.

This is a hardy biennial, highly prized as a garnish, and as a pot-herb for flavoring soups and boiled dishes.

This is a hardy biennial vegetable, resembling a small parsnip, and as easily grown.

Two peduncles mostly come out of the upper sheath; some leaves are biennial.

I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober second thought of the people shall be law.

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Biennebiennially