Quadrennial

//kwɑˈdɹɛni.əl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A four-year period, a quadrennium.

    "International rowing's elite tend to think in terms of quadrennials — the four-year cycle between Olympic Games — but the addition of the light women's double to Olympic program prior to the 1996 Atlanta Games has also brought distinct eras to the event."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Happening every four years. not-comparable

    "The quadrennial election of Chief Magistrate has passed off with less than the usual excitement."

  2. 2
    Lasting for four years. not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms
anniversarybicentennialbiennialbirthdaycentennialcommemoration

Example

More examples

"It's time for my quadrennial visit to see my college roommates."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin quadriennium (“four-year period”), from quattuor (“four”) + annus (“year”). By surface analysis, quadr- + -ennial.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.