ENGLISH
REFERENCE

yearly

n.
A2 Elementary US //ˈjɪɹɫi// UK //jˈiəli// year·ly

n. happening or done once every year. You use this to describe things like birthdays, reports, or events that follow a 12-month cycle.

n. occurring, appearing, or done once a year or every year. Often used to describe recurring administrative, financial, or biological cycles.


SIMPLE

The company publishes a yearly report for its shareholders.

CONTEXTUAL

We make a yearly trip to the mountains every December to see the snow.

COMPLEX

The yearly migration of these birds is a remarkable feat of endurance, spanning thousands of miles across several continents.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English yeerly, yerely, from Old English ġēarlīċ, ġērlīċ (“yearly, of the year, annual”), equivalent to year + -ly (adjectival suffix) or -ly (adverbial suffix). Cognate with Scots yerelie (“yearly”), Saterland Frisian jierelk (“yearly”), West Frisian jierliks (“yearly”), Dutch jaarlijks (“yearly”), Afrikaans jaarliks (“yearly”), German jährlich (“yearly”), Danish årlig (“yearly”), Norwegian Bokmål årlig (“yearly”), Norwegian Nynorsk årleg (“yearly”), Swedish årlig (“yearly”), Icelandic árlegur (“yearly”).

Usage

Typically functions as an attributive adjective placed before the noun it modifies.

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