biennial
biennial Lexical Profile
biennial Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Taking place once every two years, or lasting for two years.
"The international art foundation hosts a prestigious biennial exhibition in Venice."
(Of a plant) requiring two growing seasons to complete its biological life cycle, typically growing foliage in the first year and flowering, fruiting, and dying in the second.
"Carrots and parsley are biennial crops that only produce seeds in their second summer."
• noun
A flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle, growing stems and leaves in its first year before flowering, producing seeds, and dying in its second year.
"Foxgloves andsweet Williams are popular garden biennials that bloom vibrancy in their second spring."
An event, festival, or large-scale art exhibition that is held once every two years.
"Curators from around the globe traveled to attend the contemporary art biennial."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Biennial" is frequently confused with "biannual"; "biennial" means occurring once every two years, whereas "biannual" means occurring twice a year.
• Rhymes for biennial
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 17th century from Latin biennis, formed from the prefix bi- ("two") and annus ("year"), modeled after words like perennial.