bipartisan
adjective
-sən
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Bipartisan is a two-part word. The first element is the prefix bi-, which means "two"; the second is partisan, a word that traces through Middle French and north Italian dialect to the Latin part- or pars, meaning "part." Partisan itself has a long history as a word in English. It has been used as a noun in reference to a firm adherent to a party, faction, or cause (especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance), since the 16th century. The related adjective (meaning "of, relating to, or characteristic of a partisan") appeared in the 19th century, as did, after a space of some 50 years, the adjective bipartisan.
Examples of bipartisan in a Sentence
Sean Wilentz, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2009
Seasoned observers of Washington tend to dismiss such talk of national unity and bipartisan cooperation as meaningless political boilerplate …
—Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, 7 May 2007
Two recent national bipartisan blue-ribbon panels, the National Research Council Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children and the National Reading Panel, came to converging conclusions.
—Bennet A. Shawitz, New Republic, 6 Nov. 2000
The bill has bipartisan support.
Fatma Tanis,
NPR,
3 July 2026
The president’s decision to tap Pulte has drawn sharp bipartisan criticism from members of Congress.
—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
3 July 2026
Freedom 250, an organization aligned with the White House, has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago.
—
Steven Sloan,
Los Angeles Times,
3 July 2026
The House version also includes a bipartisan proposal for a permanent program modeled after the Local Food Purchase Assistance program.
—
ABC News,
3 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for bipartisan
Cite this Entry
“Bipartisan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bipartisan. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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bipartisan
adjective
