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⇱ ANNUAL Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com


annual

American  
[an-yoo-uhl] / ˈæn yu əl /

adjective

  1. of, for, or pertaining to a year; yearly.

    annual salary.

  2. occurring or returning once a year.

    an annual celebration.

  3. Botany. living only one growing season, as beans or corn.

  4. performed or executed during a year.

    the annual course of the sun.

  5. Entomology. living or lasting but one season or year, as certain insects or colonies of insects.


noun

  1. Botany. a plant living only one year or season.

  2. a book, report, etc., published annually.

annual British  
/ ˈænjʊəl /

adjective

  1. occurring, done, etc, once a year or every year; yearly

    an annual income

  2. lasting for a year

    an annual subscription

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a plant that completes its life cycle in less than one year Compare perennial biennial

  2. a book, magazine, etc, published once every year

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
annual Scientific  
/ ănyo̅o̅-əl /
  1. Completing a life cycle in one growing season.


  1. An annual plant. Annuals germinate, blossom, produce seed, and die in one growing season. They are common in environments with short growing seasons. Most desert plants are annuals, germinating and flowering after rainfall. Many common weeds, wild flowers, garden flowers, and vegetables are annuals. Examples of annuals include tomatoes, corn, wheat, sunflowers, petunias, and zinnias.

  2. Compare biennial perennial

Other Word Forms

  • annually adverb
  • interannual adjective
  • interannually adverb

Etymology

Origin of annual

1350–1400; < Late Latin annuālis, equivalent to Latin annu ( us ) yearly (derivative of annus circuit of the sun, year) + -ālis -al 1; replacing Middle English annuel < Anglo-French < Latin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a report, the analyst notes that the energy infrastructure company set its growth outlook through 2030, targeting 5%-7% compound annual fee-based adjusted Ebitda-per-share growth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

The firm is forecasting above-average annual deficits of around 8% within the direct-lending market, spanning the second half of the year to the first half of 2027.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

The latest government data on single-family housing starts showed a 2.8% monthly decline to an annual rate of 935,000.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

“One Shining Moment” is another man’s darkness, and so it was that after Michigan’s 69-63 title victory over UConn Monday night, Mara unwittingly milked his co-starring role in the tournament’s annual music video compilation.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

The entire Zanmi Lasante annual budget for all of its services was $1.5 million, half of that in the form of donated drugs.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.