Meaning & use
bicentennial
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Meanings
nouncountable
A two-hundredth anniversary, or the celebration of it.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'the' and 'of': the bicentennial of the university.
Patterns
- the bicentennial of something
- celebrate a bicentennial
- mark a bicentennial
The town held a parade for its bicentennial in 2025.
They are planning a bicentennial to honor the founding of the school.
The bicentennial of the treaty was marked with a special exhibition.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to a two-hundredth anniversary.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: bicentennial celebrations.
Patterns
- bicentennial celebrations
- bicentennial anniversary
- bicentennial year
The bicentennial celebrations lasted all summer.
A bicentennial committee was formed to organize events.
They released a book for the bicentennial year.
Word forms
| plural | bicentennials |
|---|
Common combinations
- bicentennial celebration
- The bicentennial celebration included fireworks and speeches.
- bicentennial anniversary
- The bicentennial anniversary of the battle drew many visitors.
- bicentennial of the United States
- The bicentennial of the United States was in 1976.
- bicentennial year
- The city planted trees in its bicentennial year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- two-hundredth anniversary
- A descriptive phrase; 'bicentennial' is the standard single word.
Word family
- centennial noun
- A one-hundredth anniversary.
- tercentennial noun
- A three-hundredth anniversary.
- biennial adjective
- Happening every two years.
Commonly confused: bicentennial or biennial? bicentennial or centennial?
bicentennial vs biennial
Means 'every two years', not 'two hundred years'. A bicentennial is a 200th anniversary.
bicentennial vs centennial
A 100th anniversary, while a bicentennial is a 200th anniversary.
Practice
What does 'bicentennial' refer to?
Choose one answer.
'Bicentennial' combines 'bi-' (two) and 'centennial' (hundredth), so it means a 200th anniversary. A 100th is a centennial.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bicentennial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.