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 agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2025

Senators on Sunday neared a bipartisan deal that could reopen the government as soon as this week, though several big hurdles remain. —Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 9 Nov. 2025

Schumer also called for the creation of a bipartisan committee to address Republican demands for changes to the Affordable Care Act. —Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025

It was created to assuage bipartisan concerns from Congress about sweeping cuts to Medicaid, another provision in the bill, and its impact on rural hospitals. —Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 7 Nov. 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