Word
annum
Phoneticsan·num
/ˈænəm/
Definition
n. a word for one year. It is mostly used in business or science to talk about how much something costs or happens every year.
n. a period of one year. Typically used in formal financial or scientific contexts to specify a rate or frequency per year.
Examples
“The interest rate is five percent per annum.”
“The contract states that the employee will receive twenty-five days of paid leave per annum.”
“In astronomical terms, the orbital period of the planet is measured per annum, reflecting its journey around the star relative to Earth's calendar year.”
Examples
simple
“The interest rate is five percent per annum.”
contextual
“The contract states that the employee will receive twenty-five days of paid leave per annum.”
complex
“In astronomical terms, the orbital period of the planet is measured per annum, reflecting its journey around the star relative to Earth's calendar year.”
Usage
Almost exclusively used in the Latin phrase 'per annum' to mean 'each year' or 'annually'.
Pitfall
The salary is 50,000 per annumly
The salary is 50,000 per annum
Learners often confuse the noun 'annum' with the adverb 'annually'; 'per' must be followed by the noun.
Real-World Examples
“Separately, the Future Fund reported a 10-year return of 9% per annum, beating its target of 7.1%.” Etymology
From Latin per annum (“yearly”), from annus (“year”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/annum