anniversary

noun an·ni·ver·sa·ry \ ˌa-nə-ˈvərs-rē , -ˈvər-sə- \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: anniversary in a Sentence

plural anniversaries

1 : the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event

a wedding anniversary

; broadly : a date that follows such an event by a specified period of time measured in units other than years

the 6-month anniversary of the accident

2 : the celebration of an anniversary

See anniversary defined for English-language learners

See anniversary defined for kids

Examples of anniversary in a Sentence

the anniversary of the invasion
The exhibit will close on the 100th anniversary of the artist's death.

Recent Examples of anniversary from the Web

The pair have been married for almost 19 years (their anniversary is coming up next month) and have four children together: Brooklyn, 19, Romeo, 15, Cruz, 13, and Harper, seven.

— rachel epstein, Marie Claire, "Victoria Beckham Shuts Down Rumors That She and David Beckham Are Divorcing," 8 June 2018
The concert commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Open-Air Concert Hall and the 115th anniversary of Hibiya Park where the hall is located kicked off with the four-member all-female band CHAI.

— billboard japan, Billboard, "Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Hosts Concert With CHAI & Ken Hirai, Announces New Album," 5 June 2018
Image HONG KONG — Tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists turned out in Hong Kong Monday to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, observing an event that goes largely unmentioned in mainland China.

— angie chan, New York Times, "Hong Kong Marks Tiananmen Crackdown, as China Ignores Event," 4 June 2018
Later this year, the world will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

— chito gascon, Time, "What the Philippines Tells Us About the Broken Promises of Human Rights," 30 May 2018
William, 35, attended a morning service at the Manchester Cathedral commemorating the one-year anniversary of the attack, which also left 59 injured.

— dana rose falcone, PEOPLE.com, "Prince William Attends His First Event Since Royal Wedding to Mark Manchester Attack Anniversary," 22 May 2018
Harry and William also created a documentary about their memories of their mother to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death last year.

— claire atkinson /, NBC News, "Prince Harry's evolving, and at times testy, relationship with the press," 15 May 2018
Cruz visited Israel to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its creation and celebrate the U.S.'s new embassy in Jerusalem.

— fernando ramirez, Houston Chronicle, "Ted Cruz: U.S. should 'undoubtedly' look to Israel as border security example," 15 May 2018
Founded in 1868, IWC is commemorating its own 150th anniversary throughout 2018, and in January released a series of Pallweber editions – three wristwatches and this 52mm pocket watch – as part of a 28-watch Jubilee Collection.

— laurie brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, "Shopping the Carpet: Cate Blanchett Goes for Gender-Bending Glam Sunday in Cannes," 14 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anniversary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of anniversary

Middle English anniversarie, from Medieval Latin anniversarium, from Latin, neuter of anniversarius returning annually, from annus year + versus, past participle of vertere to turn — more at annual, worth

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Calendar Terms

antedate, estival, gloaming, luster, sesquicentennial

ANNIVERSARY Defined for English Language Learners

anniversary

noun

: a date that is remembered or celebrated because a special or notable event occurred on that date in a previous year

ANNIVERSARY Defined for Kids

anniversary

noun an·ni·ver·sa·ry \ ˌa-nə-ˈvərs-ə-rē , -ˈvərs-rē \

plural anniversaries

: a date remembered or celebrated every year because of something special that happened on it in an earlier year

a wedding anniversary

Word Root of anniversary

The Latin word annus, meaning “year,” gives us the root ann or enn. Words from the Latin annus have something to do with a year. Anything that is annual happens once a year and anything biennial happens once every two years. An anniversary is the return every year of the date on which something special happened. Something perennial continues all year long or comes back each year.