Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

semiannual

[sem-ee-an-yoo-uh l, sem-ahy-]
See more synonyms for semiannual on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. occurring, done, or published every half year or twice a year; semiyearly.
  2. lasting for half a year: a semiannual plant.
Show More

Origin of semiannual

First recorded in 1785–95; semi- + annual
Related formssem·i·an·nu·al·ly, adverb
Can be confusedbiannual biennial semiannual (see usage note at bi-1)

Usage note

See bi-1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for semiannual

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • No job about the farm was so much disliked by the farmer and his boys as the semiannual removal of the stove.

  • Mindful of the traditions of the elders, as the spring came on she commenced the semiannual operation of house-cleaning.

    Make or Break

    Oliver Optic

  • "I was merely quoting from the auditor's semiannual report, of which that is a summary," he said, indicating the folded paper.

    Empire Builders

    Francis Lynde

  • He has had steady two-quarts-a-day men, and men who were subject only to semiannual debauches.

  • It holds semiannual meetings in connection with the National Association, but is not a department of said Association.

British Dictionary definitions for semiannual

semiannual

adjective
  1. occurring every half-year
  2. lasting for half a year
Show More
Derived Formssemiannually, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012