annually

American  

[an-yoo-uh-lee] / ˈæn yu ə li /

adverb

1. once a year; each year.

   The school’s Harvest Dance has been held annually, on the first Saturday of October, for more than 125 years.

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Etymology

Origin of annually

First recorded in 1580–1600; annual ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Explanation

Something that happens annually occurs once a year, every year. If you vacation at the beach annually, you do it every summer. Many people send holiday cards annually, mailing stacks of them every December, and everyone celebrates a birthday annually. If your work performance is reviewed annually, your boss might consider giving you a raise each year. The adverb annually comes from the adjective annual, which is rooted in the Late Latin annualis, based on annus, or "year."

Example Sentences

In February, the company said it would lay off 12% of its workforce, which it said would save around $500 million annually.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

A decade ago, filmgoers in the United States and Canada would frequently spend more than $11 billion annually at the cinema, but since the pandemic, the total take has not exceeded $9 billion.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Iranian officials have ambitious plans to earn tens of billions of dollars annually by charging fees for the passage in the Strait of Hormuz, even though only one side of it is in Iranian waters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

A recent study found energy network operators had underinvested by £490m annually.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

As Equiano explained, the island of Montserrat “requires 20,000 new Negroes annually, to fill up the vacant places of the dead.”

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Related Words

• each year
• every year