Meaning & use
biannual
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Happening twice a year.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a biannual meeting. Not usually after a verb.
Patterns
- a biannual event
- biannual meetings
- biannual publication
The company holds a biannual review in June and December.
Our biannual family reunion is always in spring and fall.
The journal is biannual, so it comes out every six months.
Common combinations
- biannual meeting
- The board has a biannual meeting in January and July.
- biannual report
- We publish a biannual report on safety.
- biannual event
- The festival is a biannual event held in even years.
- biannual inspection
- The equipment gets a biannual inspection.
Synonyms and how they differ
- semiannual
- Semiannual means the same as biannual (twice a year) and is often preferred in American English to avoid confusion with biennial.
- half-yearly
- Half-yearly is a common British alternative that also means twice a year.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: biannual or biennial?
biannual vs biennial
Biennial means every two years, while biannual means twice a year. For example, a biennial election is held every two years; a biannual election would be held twice a year.
Practice
The committee meets in March and September, so it has a ______ schedule.
Choose one answer.
Biannual means twice a year, which fits the two meetings in March and September. Biennial means every two years, so it would not fit two meetings in one year.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biannual”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.