semitrailer

American

[sem-i-trey-ler] / ˈsɛm ɪˌtreɪ lər /

noun

Also called semi. a detachable trailer for hauling freight, with wheels at the rear end, the forward end being supported by the rear of a truck tractor when attached.
tractor-trailer.

semitrailer British

/ ˌsɛmɪˈtreɪlə /

noun

a type of trailer or articulated lorry that has wheels only at the rear, the front end being supported by the towing vehicle

"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 semitrailer

First recorded in 1915–20; semi- + trailer

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.

After the truck stopped, a woman escaped from the passenger side of the semitrailer and Jayne drove away.

From Seattle Times • May 14, 2024

From inside the shop, Zapata watched a semitrailer truck slowly turn and block the road.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2023

Dash-camera and body-camera video released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol shows troopers with their lights and sirens on following a semitrailer before the truck stops.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2023

Minely Beatriz Ramirez-Valdez was part of a group nabbed inside a Peterbilt semitrailer at a Border Patrol highway checkpoint en route from southern Texas to Houston on Thursday.

From Washington Times • Nov. 8, 2022

They weren’t in the fifth-wheel or the semitrailer.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

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