bipartisan

American  

[bahy-pahr-tuh-zuhn] / baɪˈpɑr tə zən /

adjective

1. representing, characterized by, or including members from two parties or factions.

   Government leaders hope to achieve a bipartisan foreign policy.

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bipartisan British  

/ baɪˈpɑːtɪˌzæn, ˌbaɪpɑːtɪˈzæn /

adjective

1. consisting of or supported by two political parties

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Usage

What does bipartisan mean? Bipartisan means including two parties or factions, especially ones that typically oppose each other. Bipartisan is used in the context of political systems that have two dominant parties. Bipartisan is most often used to describe actions or solutions intended to counteract partisan politics, which refers to a situation in which members of each party vote along party lines and refuse to compromise. Example: Approving the budget before the deadline will take a bipartisan effort.

Other Word Forms

• bipartisanism
  noun
• bipartisanship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bipartisan

First recorded in 1905–10; bi- ¹ + partisan ¹

Explanation

If something is bipartisan, it has the support of two political parties that normally don’t agree on much. You might read about a bipartisan plan to improve the school system where you live. The word bipartisan is easy to figure out when you break it apart: bi-, meaning “two,” plus partisan, meaning "supporter of a party." So something that’s bipartisan involves two parties finding enough common ground to support the same thing. A key aspect of something that’s bipartisan is that the two parties involved typically hold opposing views about the best way to do things, so a bipartisan agreement is one that likely involved a lot of effort, compromise, and cooperation.

Example Sentences

“We doubt that there is sufficient bipartisan support to pass the legislation through the full Senate,” wrote Stifel Chief Washington Policy Strategist Brian Gardner in a research note this week.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

Radcliffe hoped they would formulate a set of bipartisan recommendations to the state legislature.

From Salon • May 12, 2026

Despite committee progress, the bill faces significant challenges in the full Senate, needing bipartisan support and resolution on ethics provisions.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

Department of Justice this year in response to the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Because nothing like the full-blooded machinery of a modern political party system existed, Adams conveyed his tentative scheme for a bipartisan initiative informally through letters and conversations sure to be picked up by the press.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis