semifinal

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adjective semi·fi·nal \-ˈfī-n^əl\

Definition of semifinal

1 : being next to the last in an elimination tournament
2 : of or participating in a semifinal

Recent Examples of semifinal from the Web

The Chargers marched into the tournament’s semifinal round, thanks in large part to the senior duo.

— andrew turner, Daily Pilot, "O'Connor to Atencio connection takes Edison to Battle at the Beach semis," 8 July 2017
Boy, that escalated quickly There was so much hype coming into this game for Mexico, with El Tri particularly eager to erase memories of last year's Copa America semifinal meltdown.

— alexander abnos, SI.com, "Mexico unprepared for early onslaught as Germany rolls on to Confederations Cup final," 29 June 2017
DeLoach, 31, clocked 12.83 seconds in her semifinal heat to edge her previous best of 12.84, set in 2015.

— doyle woody, Alaska Dispatch News, "Janay DeLoach’s personal-best wasn’t enough against an ocean-deep hurdles field," 24 June 2017
Ebel needs to get out of the round of 16 then win ensuing quarterfinal and semifinal matches for a chance to become the first repeat Metropolitan champion since Alex Martin in 2007-08.

— marc hardin, Cincinnati.com, "Mother Nature made problems for Friday's Tony Blom Metropolitan Amateur Championship," 23 June 2017
The Tigers (50-18) used a five-run second highlighted by Jake Slaughter's home run and one of the more efficient outings of Jared Poche's record career to advance to the semifinal round against Oregon State.

— christopher dabe, NOLA.com, "LSU beats Florida State to stay alive in the College World Series," 21 June 2017
TCU had its best shot last season, losing two semifinal games out of the winners bracket to the eventual champion.

— carlos mendez, star-telegram.com, "Finally, TCU and Florida meet, each missing one thing in their CWS history," 17 June 2017
Friendly: Russia-Chile 11:50 a.m. ESPND World Cup qualifying: Sweden-France 2:30 p.m. FS2 FOXD TENNIS TIME TV French Open: Men’s semifinal 6:30 a.m. TENNIS French Open: Men’s semifinal11 a.m.

— miamiherald, "Sports on TV: Friday, June 9, 2017," 8 June 2017
Ruebin Walters ran a 13.43 in the 110 meter hurdles to finish third in the semifinal round.

— drew champlin, AL.com, "Samford lands basketball commitment from Haleyville star Logan Dye," 7 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'semifinal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of semifinal

1884

semifinal

play

noun semi·fi·nal \ˈse-mē-ˌfī-n^əl, ˈse-ˌmī-, -mi-\

Definition of semifinal

1 : a semifinal match
2 : a semifinal round

semifinalist

play \ˌse-mē-ˈfī-n^əl-ist, ˌse-ˌmī-, -mi-\ noun

See semifinal defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of semifinal from the Web

Elsewhere, Purdue’s Steele Johnson advanced to semifinals of men’s 3-meter springboard and was 18th.

— david woods, Indianapolis Star, "IU diver Jessica Parratto takes 11th at World Championships," 19 July 2017
Houston went 55-27 in the regular season and beat Westbrook and the Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference semifinals.

— CBS News, "James Harden, Houston Rockets agree to largest contract in NBA history," 8 July 2017
In a Horizon League semifinal at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Hayward had another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds as Butler won, 68-59.

— ben steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "New Celtic Hayward had success against UW-Milwaukee at Butler," 5 July 2017
Because Venus had an injury and withdrew from her semifinal match against Serena.

— kellee terrell, Harper's BAZAAR, "Why Is It So Difficult For White People To Let Serena Williams Be Great?," 30 June 2017
A pass-first guard, Mahinay scored a team-high 12 points in Grant's season-ending loss to Stevenson in a Class 4A regional semifinal.

— bob narang, Lake County News-Sun, "Ally Mahinay, Grant girls basketball teammates adjust to new coach," 30 June 2017
British prosecutors charged six people Wednesday in connection with the deaths of 96 soccer fans who were trampled during the 1989 F.A. Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium.

— yasmeen serhan, The Atlantic, "Criminal Charges for 1989 Hillsborough Disaster," 28 June 2017
The catastrophe happened on April 15, 1989, when Liverpool and Nottingham Forest faced off in an FA Cup semifinal.

— sarah begley, Time, "What Happened During the Hillsborough Disaster," 28 June 2017
Teenager Noah Lyles was one of the favorites in the 200, but didn't race in the semifinals because of a strained right hamstring.

— Bloomberg.com, "Healthy After Kidney Transplant, Merritt Returns to Worlds," 25 June 2017

First Known Use of semifinal

1895

SEMIFINAL Defined for English Language Learners

semifinal

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noun

Definition of semifinal for English Language Learners

: either one of two matches, games, or contests to decide which people or teams will be in the final part of a competition (such as a series of races or a tennis tournament)