semiaquatic

adjective

semi·​aquat·​ic ˌse-mē-ə-ˈkwä-tik 

-ˈkwa-,

ˌse-ˌmī-,

-mi-

: growing equally well in or adjacent to water

also : frequenting but not living wholly in water

Examples of semiaquatic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As semiaquatic ambush predators, today’s crocodylians primarily occupy similar ecological roles in a wide variety of environments. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Apr. 2025

By the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, most of the survivors were the semiaquatic generalists and one group of aquatic carnivores. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Apr. 2025

The Catholic Church in Venezuela bent the rules for the semiaquatic animal, allowing it to be eaten during Lent. —Gary Shteyngart, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025

While called rice, wild rice is actually a semiaquatic grass. —Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for semiaquatic

• antibiotic
• antipsychotic
• antithrombotic
• epizootic
• homoerotic
• psychoneurotic
• unpatriotic
• xenobiotic
• abiotic
• aeronautic
• apoptotic
• asymptotic

Kids Definition

semiaquatic

adjective

semi·​aquat·​ic ˌsem-ē-ə-ˈkwät-ik 

ˌsem-ˌī-,

-ˈkwat-

: growing well in or very near water

also : living near and often entering water but not living in it