semidesert

noun

semi·​des·​ert ˌse-mē-ˈde-zərt 

ˌse-ˌmī-,

-mi-

: an arid area that has some of the characteristics of a desert but has greater annual precipitation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

At the valley’s southernmost tip, which is surrounded by a shrub-steppe semidesert and is one of Canada’s hottest spots, conditions are ideal for reds such as syrahs and merlots. Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2021

The largest scientific structure ever powers up in Africa Towering above an ancient seabed in the Karoo—a remote semidesert in South Africa—is a seven-story dish antenna that will soon begin scanning the universe for its deepest secrets. Alex Baker-whitcomb, Wired, 17 Dec. 2019

This dish antenna rises seven stories above an ancient seabed in the Karoo, a remote semidesert in South Africa. Laura Mallonee, Wired, 17 Dec. 2019

At the very least, the monsoonal flow gives Los Angeles a sticky, tropical feel, making a dry semidesert uncharacteristically muggy. Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2019

Within days, the deaths of the four American soldiers in the remote West African semidesert had veered into the incendiary issue of race relations in the United States. Thomas Gibbons-neff, Helene Cooper And Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above