Meaning & use
biennium
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableformallegal
A span of two years, especially one used by a government for planning a budget or running a legislative session.
Grammar: Countable: the 2025-27 biennium; plural biennia or bienniums.
Patterns
- during the biennium
- in the next biennium
The state passed a budget for the coming biennium.
Funding will be reviewed at the end of the biennium.
The legislature meets once during each biennium.
nouncountableformal
A period of two years used by a university, organization or agency to plan or measure its work.
Grammar: Appears in reports and formal documents.
Patterns
- biennium report
The research office submitted its report for the biennium.
The university set new enrollment goals for the next biennium.
Word forms
| plural | bienniums or biennia |
|---|
Common combinations
- budget for the biennium
- The governor presented a budget for the biennium.
- current biennium
- The current biennium ends in June.
- next biennium
- Plans for the next biennium are still being drawn up.
- biennium budget
- The biennium budget includes funds for new schools.
- over the biennium
- Costs rose slowly over the biennium.
Synonyms and how they differ
- two years
- Two years is the plain phrase used in everyday speech, while biennium is a formal term for an official period.
- biennial period
- Biennial period means the same thing but is wordier, and appears mainly in legal writing.
- two-year term
- Two-year term often refers to an officeholder's time in a post, rather than a budget or planning period.
Word family
- biennial adjective
- happening every two years or lasting two years
- biennially adverb
- every two years
- biennial noun
- a plant that lives two years, or an event every two years
- triennium noun
- a period of three years
Commonly confused: biennium or biannual?
biennium vs biannual
Biannual usually means twice a year, whereas biennial means every two years, and biennium means the two-year period itself.
Practice
A state budget covers two fiscal years. What is that two-year period called?
Choose one answer.
A biennium is a period of two years. A decade is ten years, and biannual is an adjective meaning twice a year.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biennium”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.