semiannual

adjective

semi·​an·​nu·​al ˌse-mē-ˈan-yə(-wə)l How to pronounce semiannual (audio)
ˌse-ˌmī-,
-mi-
: occurring every six months or twice a year
semiannually adverb

Examples of semiannual in a Sentence

my semiannual visit to my cousin
Recent Examples on the Web Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell headed to Washington this week to give his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. Will Daniel, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024 The Fed chief is on Capitol Hill this week to deliver a semiannual report on the US central bank’s actions since the summer. Bryan Mena, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The Uniform Time Act allowed states to make standard time permanent, getting rid of the semiannual time changes. Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 What advertisers should do: Fully leverage your annual or semiannual client-agency performance assessments to provide meaningful, actionable feedback that will secure and strengthen the partnership. Bruno Gralpois, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Colin Kearns, the editor-in-chief of Field & Stream since 2016, will continue in that role and maintain his editorial team for the digital site and semiannual print publication. Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Jan. 2024 Neither of the officials responded to Warner, and the NASS meeting—a semiannual confab for the nation’s election administrators that deals with everything from mail-in voting to cyber threats—quickly moved on to other business. Eric Geller, WIRED, 26 Feb. 2024 My first Valentino fashion show took place at Pitti Uomo [Florence’s semiannual men’s wear trade fair] in 2012. Laura May Todd, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 Ahead of next week’s semiannual Television Critics Association press tour, Netflix staged its own press event Wednesday — dubbed Next on Netflix — at its Tudum Theater in Hollywood. Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'semiannual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of semiannual was in 1791

Dictionary Entries Near semiannual

Cite this Entry

“Semiannual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semiannual. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

semiannual

adjective
semi·​an·​nu·​al ˌsem-ē-ˈan-yə(-wə)l How to pronounce semiannual (audio)
ˌsem-ˌī-
: occurring every six months or twice a year
semiannually
adverb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!