Difference Between Biennial and Biannual

Main Difference – Biennial vs Biannual

Many people make the mistake of using the two adjectives biennial and biannual interchangeably. This is probably because these two adjectives look and sound similar. However, there is a significant difference between biennial and biannual in meaning. The main difference between biennial and biannual is that biennial means once every two years whereas biannual means twice a year. Therefore, these two adjectives cannot be used interchangeably.

Biennial – Definition, Meaning and Usage

Biennial means once every two years. Thus, this adjective can be used with things that happen every other year. For example, the biennial chess tournament is a tournament that happens once every two years. If the last competition was in 2015, then the next competition would be in 2017.

The term biennial is also used to refer to a plant that takes two years to complete its biological cycle. Theses example sentences will help you to understand the meaning and usage of biennial more clearly.

The gallery’s biennial exhibition will be held this weekend.

The biennial budget proposal was approved by the committee.

This first published as a biennial journal due to lack of funds.

The Sweet William Dwarf plant is a biennial plant.

Biannual – Definition, Meaning and Usage

Biannual means twice a year. Thus, it can be used to describe something that happens two times a year. For example, a journal that is published only twice a year is called a biannual journal. A meeting that only happens twice a year is called a biannual meeting. Solstice is also a biannual event.

New budget proposals will be presented at the biannual meeting.

This paper was originally published in the biannual journal of gender studies.

Our company has biannual meetings in June and December.

This exhibition is a biannual event.