semiautomatic
Americanadjective
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partly automatic.
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(of a firearm) automatically ejecting the cartridge case of a fired shot and loading the next cartridge from the magazine but requiring a squeeze of the trigger to fire each individual shot.
noun
adjective
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partly automatic
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(of a firearm) self-loading but firing only one shot at each pull of the trigger Compare automatic
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of semiautomatic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Australia banned most automatic and semiautomatic guns, introduced strict licensing requirements and implemented a gun buyback program.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said they found a SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope and extended magazine in the area where Routh was hiding.
From BBC • Sep. 8, 2025
More recently, the department settled a lawsuit over forced-reset triggers, in the process allowing the sale of aftermarket devices that boost a semiautomatic rifle’s rate of fire.
From Slate • Jun. 4, 2025
Victor Gomes bought a Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol from a licensed gun store in the Central Valley city of Hanford in May 2017.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2025
She stood six foot one, had played basketball and volleyball in college, and, as a sworn police officer, carried a Glock semiautomatic pistol.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
