twiceyearly

Twiceyearly is a term that describes something that occurs two times in a calendar year. It is typically written as two words, "twice yearly," or with a hyphen, "twice-yearly." The unhyphenated, single-word form "twiceyearly" is uncommon and often regarded as a typographical error in formal writing. The phrase functions as an adjective (twice-yearly report) or an adverb (the report is issued twice yearly).

Relationship to related terms: Semiannual and biannual are often used interchangeably with twice yearly, but they can carry different implications. Semiannual typically means every six months; biannual can be read as either twice a year or once every two years, depending on regional usage or discipline. Because of this ambiguity, many editors prefer explicit phrasing like "twice a year" or "every six months" when precision matters.

Usage notes: In practice, twice yearly is common in business, publishing, and taxation contexts. For schedules, listing specific months (for example, June and December) removes ambiguity. In some style guides, hyphenation is recommended for compound adjectives preceding a noun (a twice-yearly report), while open compounds are accepted in running text.

See also: biennial, semiannual.