semester

noun

se·​mes·​ter sə-ˈme-stər 

1

: either of the two usually 18-week periods of instruction into which an academic year is often divided

2

: a period of six months

semestral

sə-ˈme-strəl 

adjective

or semestrial

sə-ˈme-strē-əl 

Examples of semester in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That three-and-a-half semester program is intended to provide students who’ve already earned degrees in other fields with a streamlined pathway to a career in nursing. —Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025

That job plus my meager savings put me through University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where tuition was less than $300 a semester. —Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2025

For many new graduates, the college experience was entirely atypical—dominated by a pandemic that popularized hybrid learning and a rapidly changing economy that reshaped industries in just a few semesters. —Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025

After a semester of college in Georgia, Karen had relocated to Colorado Springs to be with her boyfriend. —Jordana Comiter, People.com, 2 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

German, from Latin semestris half-yearly, from sex six + mensis month — more at six, moon

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing semester

• semester hour

Rhymes for semester

• ancestor
• arrester
• digester
• investor
• protester
• requester
• sequester
• silvester
• trimester
• ester
• esther
• fester

Kids Definition

semester

noun

se·​mes·​ter sə-ˈmes-tər 

: either of two terms of about 18 weeks each that make up a school year