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

The video also showed Webb's vehicle arriving at the home around 6:45 p.m. Investigators collected a semiautomatic handgun from the vehicle that Santos' body was found in and believe the suspect used the firearm to commit the homicides and take his own life. —Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2025

Police said Tamura entered the building’s lobby with an M4-style semiautomatic rifle and began firing. —Oumou Fofana, Essence, 30 July 2025

The suit seeks to strike parts of the ordinance that ban anyone under 21 from having a handgun or ammunition and a prohibition on anyone between the ages of 18 and 20 from possessing a semiautomatic assault rifle with certain exceptions. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 27 June 2025

He was charged with illegally carrying a semiautomatic Glock 19 that police said was registered to his uncle. —Martín Adames Alcántara, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for semiautomatic

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