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.

---

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

---

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

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 )

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

Each Friday during the spring semester, students practice the basic techniques of archaeological fieldwork while investigating Mission San Francisco de Potano, a centuries-old site in northwest Gainesville.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

Their stories reveal the trade-offs of early graduation: Every semester saved in tuition is also potentially one less semester to gain the internships and connections that help launch careers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

The next day, she was placed on administrative leave and told her contract would end after the semester.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

“We look to the second semester with confidence,” Executive Chairman Axel Dumas said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

When the semester ended I returned to Buck’s Peak.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

For two semesters, I dressed up to teach from my living room laptop, receiving excellent evaluations.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Instead of taking on summer internships or job-shadowing opportunities between semesters, he worked a retail gig to pay for college.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

He is enrolling in a UF online program for the first few semesters and paying an extra fee package to access services like the campus gym and student-section football-game tickets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 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

“I want to take college classes online. I mean...well, I’ve been taking them for 2 semesters already, but under Nana’s name. For fun.”

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty