bicentennial

IPA/ˌbaɪsenˈteniəl/
KK[bˌaɪsɛntˈɛniəl]IPA/ˌbaɪsenˈteniəl/

bicentennial — noun

1. a year or day on which people celebrate that exactly 200 years have passed since

1.nounC1
Definition

a year or day on which people celebrate that exactly 200 years have passed since a significant event happened

Example

The town's bicentennial celebration begins with a parade through the main street.

bicentennial celebration

Amelia bought a special coin to remember the university's bicentennial year.

bicentennial year

Common collocations
  • bicentennial celebration
  • bicentennial year
  • bicentennial event
  • mark the bicentennial
  • celebrate the bicentennial
Synonyms
  • bicentenary

    the standard term in British English, used identically to bicentennial

Grammar Patterns

the bicentennial of [event]

[possessive] bicentennial

Usage Note

This word is part of a series: centennial (100 years), sesquicentennial (150 years), bicentennial (200 years), and tercentennial (300 years). It is most often used for official celebrations or national anniversaries.

Common Mistakes

The company celebrated its bicentennial anniversary.
The company celebrated its bicentennial.
bicentennial already means a 200th anniversary, so adding anniversary is redundant.

Word family

  • bicentennially
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words refer to commemorative timescales, but they differ in span. Anniversary is the general term for any yearly return of a past event (a first anniversary, a fiftieth anniversary). Centennial refers specifically to a 100-year mark, while bicentennial is the 200-year equivalent. Sesquicentennial (150 years) and tercentennial (300 years) are rarer but follow the same pattern. In American English, bicentennial is the standard noun and adjective for a 200-year celebration; British English prefers bicentenary for the same concept. For example, the US celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, while the UK celebrated the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.

bicentennial ↗centennialsesquicentennialtercentennialanniversary ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the bicentennial of [event]

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed from the prefix bi- (two) and centennial (pertaining to 100 years), which itself comes from Latin centum (hundred) and annus (year). The word was first used in the late 19th century, modeled on the earlier word centennial.