annual

annual — adjective

1. taking place one time each year, usually on a regular schedule.

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

taking place one time each year, usually on a regular schedule.

Example

Our village holds an annual flower festival every May.

annual + event noun (festival)

The school's annual sports day attracts hundreds of parents.

annual + recurring event

Common collocations
  • annual festival
  • annual meeting
  • annual celebration
  • annual ceremony
  • annual conference
Synonyms
  • yearly

    near-identical meaning, slightly more everyday

  • once-a-year

    informal, hyphenated when before a noun

Antonyms
  • monthly

    happening every month instead of every year

  • biennial

    happening every two years, not every year

Grammar Patterns

annual + noun

Usage Note

Almost always sits directly before the noun it describes; rarely used after a linking verb. Distinguish from sense 2: sense 1 stresses the once-a-year rhythm of an event, while sense 2 covers totals or figures spanning a whole year.

Common Mistakes

The festival is annual every year.
The festival is annual.
'annual' already includes 'every year', so don't add it.

2. measured across or covering a full twelve-month period, often used with totals s

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

measured across or covering a full twelve-month period, often used with totals such as income, costs, or rainfall.

Example

Kenji's annual salary as a junior nurse is about thirty-six thousand pounds.

annual salary (yearly total)

Kenya's annual rainfall has dropped sharply over the last decade, worrying local farmers.

annual rainfall (yearly amount)

Common collocations
  • annual salary
  • annual income
  • annual rainfall
  • annual budget
  • annual output
  • annual fee
Synonyms
  • yearly

    interchangeable in most contexts, slightly less formal

  • year-long

    stresses the duration rather than the total

Antonyms
  • daily

    totals counted by day instead of by year

  • monthly

    totals counted by month instead of by year

Grammar Patterns

annual + noun (figure or period)

Usage Note

Subject is usually a measurable total: salary, income, rainfall, output, budget, fee. Distinguish from sense 1: 'an annual concert' (event repeated yearly) vs 'annual concert revenue' (money summed over a year).

Common Mistakes

My annual salary per year is forty thousand.
My annual salary is forty thousand.
'annual' already covers 'per year'.

3. describing a plant that grows from seed, flowers, sets new seed, and dies all wi

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

describing a plant that grows from seed, flowers, sets new seed, and dies all within a single year or growing season.

Example

Sunflowers are annual plants that finish their whole cycle by autumn.

annual plants (botany sense)

Renata filled the garden bed with cheap annual flowers from the market.

annual flowers (botany)

Common collocations
  • annual plant
  • annual flower
  • annual crop
  • annual species
  • annual weed
Synonyms
  • one-season

    informal description of the same life cycle

Antonyms
  • perennial

    plant that lives and flowers for several years

  • biennial

    plant with a two-year life cycle

Grammar Patterns

annual + plant noun

Usage Note

Mainly used in gardening and biology; contrasts with 'perennial' (lives for many years) and 'biennial' (two-year cycle). Common before nouns like plant, flower, crop, species, weed.

Common Mistakes

Roses are annual flowers.
Roses are perennial flowers.
most roses live for many years; 'annual' applies only to plants that die after one season.

annual — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe how often or for how long something happens, but they are not interchangeable. 'Annual' and 'yearly' both mean once every year and overlap in most everyday uses, though 'annual' sounds slightly more formal and is the usual choice in writing about budgets, reports, and official events ('annual report', 'annual fee'); 'yearly' feels more conversational ('a yearly check-up'). 'Perennial' shifts the meaning: instead of once a year, it describes something that keeps coming back year after year — a perennial complaint, a perennial favourite. 'Biennial' is technical and means once every two years, common in plant talk and in the names of art shows. In short: 'annual/yearly' = once each year; 'perennial' = lasting many years; 'biennial' = every other year.

annual ↗yearlyperennialbiennial

Common collocations

Nouns

  • annual report
  • annual fee
  • annual leave
  • annual review
  • annual meeting
  • annual subscription
  • annual income

Adverbs

  • strictly annual
  • almost annual

Phrases

  • on an annual basis
  • annual general meeting (AGM)
  • annual percentage rate (APR)

Prepositions

  • on an annual basis
  • annual to (a place/event)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Came into English in the late 1300s through Old French 'annuel' and ultimately from Latin 'annualis', a form built on 'annus' meaning 'year'. The same Latin root gives us 'anniversary', 'biennial', 'perennial', and 'per annum'. The botanical use for one-season plants and the 'yearly publication' use both grew out of the basic 'happening every year' meaning over the following centuries.