bicentennial

[ bahy-sen-ten-ee-uhl ]

adjective

1. pertaining to or in honor of a 200th anniversary:

   bicentennial celebration; a bicentennial exposition.

2. consisting of or lasting 200 years:

   a bicentennial period.

3. occurring every 200 years:

   the bicentennial return of a comet.

noun

1. a 200th anniversary:

   The United States had its bicentennial in 1976.

2. a celebration of such an anniversary.

Confusables Note

See bi- ¹.

Other Words From

• bicen·tenni·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bicentennial¹

First recorded in 1880–85; bi- ¹ + centennial

Example Sentences

In March, In Our DNA SC research coordinators collected more than 30 DNA samples at a bicentennial event in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where more than 60% of residents identify as Black.

From Salon

Ahead of the bicentennial, Georgia’s oldest city had early 18,000 hotel rooms nearly sold out for the weekend.

From Seattle Times

In the floor lay a time capsule, a measure of the owner’s faith in the future, to be opened on the paper’s bicentennial: Dec. 4, 2081.

From Los Angeles Times

Rekindled interest in Maine’s first official flag coincided with the state’s bicentennial in 2020.

From Seattle Times

Though the wider world scarcely noticed at the time — and I certainly didn’t — the summer of the U.S. bicentennial was a turning point in investing for working people.

From New York Times