Meaning & use
bipartisan
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Involving or supported by members of two political parties, especially the two main parties in a government.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a bipartisan bill, bipartisan support. It describes the cooperation, not a person's neutral status.
Patterns
- bipartisan support
- a bipartisan agreement
- bipartisan talks
The Senate passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill with votes from both parties.
The president called for bipartisan cooperation on healthcare reform.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers met to discuss the budget.
Common combinations
- bipartisan support
- The measure has broad bipartisan support in Congress.
- bipartisan agreement
- After months of talks, they reached a bipartisan agreement on taxes.
- bipartisan commission
- A bipartisan commission was set up to investigate the crisis.
- bipartisan effort
- Cleaning up the harbor was a bipartisan effort by local politicians.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cross-party
- More common in British English; it means involving different parties, but 'bipartisan' specifically suggests two parties working together.
- nonpartisan
- Nonpartisan means not belonging to or favoring any political party, while bipartisan means two parties are actively involved.
Opposites
Word family
- bipartisanship noun
- The practice of two parties working together.
- partisan adjective
- Strongly supporting one party or group, often in a way that seems unfair.
Commonly confused: bipartisan or nonpartisan?
bipartisan vs nonpartisan
Nonpartisan means neutral and not connected to any party; bipartisan means two parties are involved and cooperating.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bipartisan' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Bipartisan means involving two parties, so support from both Democrats and Republicans fits. Option 1 describes neutrality, which is 'nonpartisan'. Option 2 describes someone unaffiliated, also 'nonpartisan'. Option 3 contradicts the meaning because one party alone is not bipartisan.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bipartisan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.