Definition of BIPARTISAN

Other Words from bipartisan

bipartisanism \ (ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zə-ˌni-zəm

, -sə- \ noun

bipartisanship \ (ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zən-ˌship

, -sən- \ noun

Did You Know?

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

In his first Inaugural Address, Jefferson sounded a conciliatory, bipartisan note, averring that "we are all Republicans, we are all Federalists"—a trope copied in many inaugural addresses to follow. — 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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Of course one irony in both the media coverage and polling results from the George W. Bush era is that his greatest failings tended to be bipartisan. — James Freeman, WSJ, "We Blamed George W. Bush," 17 June 2019 The Space Corps amendment was bipartisan, proposed by Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.). — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "A Space Force by Any Other Name: House Committee Approves "Space Corps"," 14 June 2019 But support for Hong Kong’s protesters is bipartisan. — The Economist, "Hong Kong’s proposed extradition law puts ties with America at risk," 14 June 2019 The Tubman $20 bill has bipartisan support, and many politicians want more details on the reason for the delay. — Kynala Phillips, Essence, "Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Design Surfaced This Week," 14 June 2019 Written with the help of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project and endorsed by the Equal Justice Initiative, the bill passed with strong bipartisan support just two months later. — Kelebogile Zvobgo, The Conversation, "Maryland has created a truth commission on lynchings – can it deliver?," 14 June 2019 But by the time the budget bill cleared the Ohio House May 9 with strong bipartisan support, the income tax cut was expanded to provide more savings for the highest income individuals. — Rich Exner, cleveland.com, "Ohio’s tax cut plan grows again; how big will it go?," 12 June 2019 Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act with bipartisan support, authorizing $12 million to help states support these review committees. — Anna Claire Vollers | Avollers@al.com, al.com, "These volunteers teamed up to investigate deaths of moms in Alabama," 11 June 2019 The Endangered Salmon Predation Protection Act had bipartisan support, including from the entire congressional delegations and the governors of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. — Sallie Tisdale, Harper's magazine, "Catechism of the Waters," 10 June 2019

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