Definition of BIENNIAL

biennial

Plural: biennials

Noun

  • An event or plant that occurs or lives for two years.
  • (botany) a plant having a life cycle that normally takes two seasons from germination to death to complete; flowering biennials usually bloom and fruit in the second season
  • A plant that requires two years to complete its life-cycle, germinating and growing in its first year, then producing its flowers and fruit in its second year, after which it usually dies.
  • An event that happens every two years.

Adjective

  • having a life cycle lasting two seasons
    • "a biennial life cycle"
    • "parsnips and carrots are biennial plants often grown as annuals"

Adjective Satellite

  • occurring every second year
    • "they met at biennial conventions"

Adj

  • Happening every two years.
  • Lasting for two years.

Examples

  • The BIENNIAL Words With Friends tournament always drew a huge crowd.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bienni(um) (“two-year period”) [from bis, bi- (“twice”) + annus (“year”)] + -al (suffix forming adjectives). By surface analysis, bi- + -ennial.

Synonyms

biyearly, two-year, biannual, biennary

Antonyms

annual, perennial

Scrabble Score: 10

biennial: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
biennial: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
biennial: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

biennial: valid Words With Friends Word