semidiurnal

American

[sem-ee-dahy-ur-nl, sem-ahy-] / ˌsɛm i daɪˈɜr nl, ˌsɛm aɪ- /

adjective

pertaining to, consisting of, or accomplished in half a day.
occurring every 12 hours or twice each day.

semidiurnal British

/ ˌsɛmɪdaɪˈɜːnəl /

adjective

of or continuing during half a day
occurring every 12 hours

"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

Etymology

Origin of semidiurnal

First recorded in 1585–95; semi- + diurnal

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.

The semidiurnal tidal forces vanish at the Pole and are very small over the entire Arctic Ocean.

From Project Gutenberg

As a consequence the semidiurnal portion of the tide wave in these regions is almost wholly derived from the tides in the Atlantic Ocean.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023