bimonthly

1 of 3

adjective

bi·month·ly (ˌ)bī-ˈmən(t)th-lē

: occurring every two months

: occurring twice a month : semimonthly

What do bimonthly and biweekly mean?: Usage Guide

Many people are puzzled about bimonthly and biweekly, which are often ambiguous because they are formed from two different senses of bi-: "occurring every two" and "occurring two times." This ambiguity has been in existence for nearly a century and a half and cannot be eliminated by the dictionary. The chief difficulty is that many users of these words assume that others know exactly what they mean, and they do not bother to make their context clear. So if you need bimonthly or biweekly, you should leave some clues in your context to the sense of bi- you mean. And if you need the meaning "twice a," you can substitute semi- for bi-. Biannual and biennial are usually differentiated.

bimonthly

2 of 3

adverb

bi·month·ly (ˌ)bī-ˈmən(t)th-lē

: once every two months

: twice a month

bimonthly

3 of 3

noun

bi·month·ly (ˌ)bī-ˈmən(t)th-lē

: a bimonthly publication

Example Sentences

Adjective Undercover officers attended and videotaped some of the weekly or bimonthly fights held at eight secluded sites in Harris County.

Jennifer Leahy & Roma Khanna, Houston Chronicle, 16 Nov. 2008 Computer Book Review, a bimonthly magazine, carries reviews of 45-50 books in computer-related fields in each issue. … In the November/December issue, the Review publishes an annual buying guide containing summaries of the year's reviews.

Publishers Weekly, 3 June 1983 The group holds bimonthly meetings in January, March, May, and so on. The group holds bimonthly meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Adverb Opponents argued that the change is unnecessary and that it could result both in less productivity for the council and confusion for residents accustomed to watching council meetings on television. Supporters countered that meeting bimonthly will allow for lengthy subcommittee discussions on the off weeks. Subcommittee meetings also are televised live.

Michael Lafleur, Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun, 14 May 2008 This column will now appear bimonthly beginning with the March 15 issue. … we think we can cover quite handily the year's work from Christian publishers in six columns, leaving some space in the unscheduled months for the occasional feature column, such as a roundup of best books.

Booklist, 15 Jan. 1995 Noun The original five Mental Floss staffers had no journalistic experience, except for one kid who'd worked on his high-school newspaper. Now they run a bimonthly with 10,000 subscribers and a newsstand presence of 50,000 copies.

Mary Carmichael, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2002 See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

For this year's selection, editors from the bimonthly British style magazine Dazed chose the Duchess of Sussex's Armani wrap dress.

Janine Henni, PEOPLE.com, 23 Feb. 2022 Smith’s pop-up shop is part of the bimonthly Art and Market Aurora and features about a dozen different types of confections that sell at a pretty good clip.

David Sharos, chicagotribune.com, 9 May 2021 Last August, Artesanas Mexicanas launched Tianquiztli — a free bimonthly outdoor market celebrating Latino cuisine, artists and musicians.

Stephanie García, baltimoresun.com, 20 Mar. 2021 Publishing under the DC Black Label, the bimonthly series began in November with art by Giuseppe Cammuncoli and Andrea Cucchi.

Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2020 That $2,725 spread across 24 bimonthly paychecks is about $113 in additional income per pay stub, which may not sound as enticing as a bigger lump sum.

Aimee Picchi, USA TODAY, 30 Dec. 2019 For a real shocker, head to the Spectacle, an adventurous micro-cinema in Williamsburg, for its Sunday Blood Brunch, a bimonthly horror matinee where the movie is a surprise.

New York Times, 15 Aug. 2019 At times the bimonthly publications have been devoted to specific themes, such as women and minorities who served in America's armed forces.

Brian Albrecht, cleveland.com, 2 May 2018 In 2010, Zordel was recruited to run Project Homeless Connect, a bimonthly day of service for homeless people that’s usually held at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Oct. 2017

Adverb

Teen Open Mic Night, 7-9 p.m. July 15 through Nov. 18, bimonthly creative outlet for teens, featuring music, poetry and more.

Cindy Kent, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2022 Teen Open Mic Night, 7-9 p.m. July 15 through Nov. 18, bimonthly creative outlet for teens, featuring music, poetry and more.

Cindy Kent, Sun Sentinel, 24 June 2022 See More

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