semester

American  

[si-mes-ter] / sɪˈmɛs tər /

noun

• semesters
  plural

1. (in many educational institutions) a division constituting half of the regular academic year, lasting typically from 15 to 18 weeks.

2. (in German universities) a session, lasting about six months and including periods of recess.

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semester British  

/ sɪˈmɛstə /

noun

1. (in some universities) either of two divisions of the academic year, ranging from 15 to 18 weeks

2. (in German universities) a session of six months

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Usage

What does semester mean? A semester is one half of an academic year. If an academic year is divided into semesters, it means it is divided into two semesters. (If the year is divided into thirds, each part is called a trimester.)Semesters are typically used in high schools and universities. In many universities, a semester lasts 15 to 18 weeks. In German universities, a semester can last up to six months. Example: I’m thinking about taking a break from school for a semester to work and save some money.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• semestral
  adjective
• semestrial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• semesters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of semester

1820–30; < German < Latin sēmē ( n ) stris of six months duration < *sex-mēnstris, equivalent to sex six + mēns ( is ) month + -tris adj. suffix (perhaps representing an earlier *mens ( i ) -teros )

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Explanation

A semester is half of a school year. In September of your first year of high school, you could describe yourself as "a first-semester freshman." The noun semester comes up often when you're in high school and college. It's an easy way to divide the school year, into two equal halves, or semesters. Sometimes a class lasts for the whole year, and sometimes for just one semester. Occasionally schools split the year into three trimesters just to make things interesting. Originally, semester meant "six months," from the Latin root of the same meaning, semestris.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

semester semesters

The students are required to learn ancient Greek and are asked to leave if they fail a proficiency exam at the end of the first semester.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Ottawa and Brussels are also understood to be working to have Canada participate in the EU's Erasmus youth program, which allows university students to spend a semester abroad, among other things.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

The second tripled monthly sales but left when her university semester resumed.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Later, during my brief stint in seminary — I dropped out to head to a liberal arts college after a semester — women sometimes joked about pursuing their “MRS. degrees.”

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

I’d been wondering whether something was wrong with me since the beginning of the semester, when I’d attended my first lecture on world affairs.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Lee then focused on graduating early, packing his remaining coursework into two dense semesters — taking seven classes during one of them.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

They started Neros when Hichwa, who dropped out of college after three semesters, was 21, and Monroe-Anderson was 19.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

They have copy edited at The Daily Californian since their freshman spring, most recently serving two semesters as head editor of the copy desk.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

But what looks to some like abandonment feels to others like a new beginning – and that makes me excited to see how high the women in “Rooster” might fly in coming semesters.

From Salon ● May 11, 2026

Charlie grumbles: It's just temporary, only for two semesters.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

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