# semi

Pronunciation: say "SEM-ee" /ˈsɛmi/

## Noun

1. A large truck in which a powered cab unit pulls a long, detachable trailer; a tractor-trailer. *(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US)*
   - Simple: A very big truck with a front part that pulls a long trailer.
   - _Our little car shook every time a semi blew past in the left lane._
   - _Semis loaded with wheat lined up outside the grain elevator at harvest time._
2. A semifinal: a match or round played just before the final of a competition. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A semifinal, a game that decides who plays in the final.
   - _After a nervy quarterfinal, they cruised through the semi with a 3–0 win._
   - _Both semis are on Saturday, with the final set for the following week._
3. A semi-detached house: one of a pair of houses built side by side that share a single wall. *(colloquial, Australia, Canada, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: A house joined to one other house by a shared wall.
   - _We sold the flat and moved into a semi with a proper back garden._
   - _Post-war semis with bay windows line both sides of the estate road._
4. A semiautomatic gun, one that fires a single shot with each pull of the trigger and reloads automatically. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A gun that fires one bullet each time you pull the trigger and loads the next one by itself.
   - _At the range, my uncle let me fire his semi before showing me the old revolver._
   - _He's been carrying a semi ever since the trouble with his old crew started._
6. An incomplete erection, in which the penis is only partly hard. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A penis that has become partly stiff.
   - _Just the thought of seeing her again was enough to give him a semi._
   - _He shifted in his seat, hoping the newspaper on his lap hid his semi._

## Adverb

5. To some extent, though not completely. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A little, but not completely.
   - _"Is the kitchen finished?" "Semi. The cabinets are in, but there's no countertop yet."_
   - _The plan worked, well, semi: we got the permit but lost half the funding._

## Origin

From the prefix semi- (of Latin origin), used as a noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/semi (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).