annual

AN-yoo-uhl/ˈæn.ju.əl/

Noun pluralannuals

7 meanings of annual

1
once a yearadjective
Taking place one time each year.
Like a birthday: it comes around just one time a year.
The town holds an annual festival every summer.
Their family reunion is annual, with everyone meeting each July.
UsagePut it before a noun: an annual party. To say how often something is done, say annually or every year.
Similaryearly
Note
2
yearly totaladjective
Covering or measured over a whole year.
Like adding up all your spending from January to December into one total.
Her annual salary is forty thousand dollars.
The annual rainfall in this region is quite low.
Note
3
yearly booknouncountable
A book or magazine that comes out one time each year.
Like a magazine that comes out just one time a year instead of every month.
The comic publisher releases a thick annual every December.
Fans line up to buy the football annual when it appears each fall.
Similaryearbook
Note
4
adjective
Living for only one year or season, like a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in the same year.
Like a plant that lives its whole life in one summer, then is gone.
Marigolds are annual flowers that bloom for just a single season.
Most beans are annual plants and must be replanted each year.
UsageAn annual plant does not grow back next year. A perennial plant does.
Note

Less common meanings

5
plantnouncountable
A plant that lives for just one growing season.
Like a plant whose whole life (sprouting, flowering, and dying) fits inside one year.
She filled the flower bed with annuals like marigolds and petunias.
This annual will die once the cold weather arrives.
UsageOften plural: people plant annuals in spring. Perennials are the plants that come back.
Oppositeperennial
Note
6
checkupnouncolloquialUScountable
A health checkup that you have one time each year.
Like getting your body checked once a year, the same way a car gets a yearly service.
She scheduled her annual with the family doctor for next week.
Don't skip your annual just because you feel fine.
UsageSay my annual or your annual, short for annual checkup.
Similarcheckup, physical
7
noundatedBritish
A pantomime (a funny musical play, usually for Christmas) put on once a year.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin words for "year" (annus).

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Annual ultimately derives from Latin annus. en.wikipedia.org
Latin annus means year. en.wiktionary.org