semiautomatic

adjective

semi·​au·​to·​mat·​ic ˌse-mē-ˌȯ-tə-ˈma-tik 

ˌse-ˌmī-, 

-mi-

: not fully automatic: such as

a

: operated partly automatically and partly by hand

b

of a firearm : able to fire repeatedly through an automatic reloading process but requiring release and another pressure of the trigger for each successive shot

a semiautomatic rifle

semiautomatic noun

semiautomatically

ˌse-mē-ˌȯ-tə-ˈma-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌse-ˌmī-, 

-mi-

adverb

Examples of semiautomatic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This time, the focus will be on semiautomatic rifles like AR-15s. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 26 July 2026

Writing for the majority, the court agreed with a lower court’s decision that New Jersey’s ban on AR-15 rifles violated the Second Amendment, and expanded that ruling to cover the broader class of semiautomatic center-fire rifles. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 17 July 2026

Just last week, a different federal appeals court upheld Illinois' ban on semiautomatic weapons. — ABC News, 17 July 2026

According to a criminal complaint, police recovered two semiautomatic pistols and a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle from Foster’s home. — Ben Brachfeld, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for semiautomatic

• antidemocratic
• bacteriostatic
• heterochromatic
• idiosyncratic
• paleoclimatic
• achromatic
• acrobatic
• adriatic
• aliphatic
• antistatic
• aromatic
• astigmatic