bipartisan

adjective

bi·​par·​ti·​san (ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zən  -sən 

-ˌzan

chiefly British ˌbī-ˌpä-tə-ˈzan

: of, relating to, or involving members of two parties

a bipartisan commission

specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties

bipartisan support for the bill

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

The president's direct involvement in selecting honorees and moving the medal ceremony to the White House breaks from decades of tradition, where selections were made by a bipartisan committee and medals were presented at a State Department dinner. —Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025

Three of the four judges approved for the role this week received bipartisan support. —Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 6 Dec. 2025

Large-scale layoffs at Silicon Valley firms that continue hiring H-1B workers has drawn bipartisan fire. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2025

The moratorium received overwhelming bipartisan support, the lawmakers noted. —CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bipartisan

• nonpartisan
• artisan
• partisan

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Kids Definition

bipartisan

adjective

bi·​par·​ti·​san (ˈ)bī-ˈpärt-ə-zən 

-sən

: representing, made up of, or organized by members of two political parties

a bipartisan foreign policy