annual

/ˈænj(əw)əl/

/ˈænjuəl/

Other forms: annuals

When something is annual, it happens once a year. An annual holiday party should be a time for fun, but it also can be a sad yearly reminder of the passage of time.

An annual event happens every year: "I always forget to take sunglasses to my annual eye exam and am left wearing those horrible disposable shades." Annual earnings are made over the course of a year: "His annual income is on a steady decline." And an annual plant lives for only a year: "My neighbor Shirley always plants the most garishly bright annuals instead of more subdued perennials." Whether it's eye exams, income, or plants, you can expect to see something annual again in about 365 days.

Definitions of annual

1. adjective

   occurring or payable every year
   “an annual trip to Paris”

   “annual (or yearly) income”

   synonyms: yearly

   periodic, periodical

   happening or recurring at regular intervals
2. adjective

   completing its life cycle within a year
   “a border of annual flowering plants”

   synonyms: one-year

   antonyms:

   biennial

   having a life cycle lasting two seasons

   perennial

   lasting three seasons or more
3. noun

   (botany) a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year
   type of:

   flora, plant, plant life

   (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion
4. noun

   a reference book that is published regularly once every year
   synonyms: yearbook, yearly

   types:

   almanac

   an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields arranged according to the calendar of a given year

   almanac, farmer's calendar

   an annual publication including weather forecasts and other miscellaneous information arranged according to the calendar of a given year

   ephemeris

   an annual publication containing astronomical tables that give the positions of the celestial bodies throughout the year

   type of:

   book of facts, reference, reference book, reference work

   a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts