Dictionary

semifinal en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Latin semifinalis, equivalent to semi- + final.

Meanings

1. A playoff in the round with only four players or teams left, the stage before the final.
   • The highly anticipated all-American matchup between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe — marking the first US Open semifinals between two US men in nearly 20 years — will cost you quite a few Honey Deuces to attend. 2024 September 6, Jordan Valinsky, “Ticket prices for the all-American men’s matchup at the US Open are surging”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 23 May 2025:
   • Badosa has the slightly more explosive power, but if Navarro can redirect the pace of Badosa’s shots effectively, she could well be on the way to a first Grand Slam semifinal. 2024 September 9, Michael Dominski, “Everything that happened on Day 9 of the US Open with Navarro, Fritz and Tiafoe advancing to the semifinal”, in The Athletic, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2024:
   • In the 1991 Wimbledon semifinal between Michael Stich and Stefan Edberg, there was just one service break in the entire match, and the guy whose serve was broken, Stich, ended up winning the match! 2008, Pete Sampras, Peter Bodo, Pete Sampras: A Champion's Mind, published 2010, unnumbered page:
   • Roger Federer extended his grasscourt streak to 57 matches with a victory over Marcos Baghdatis and will play Nicolas Kiefer in the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. 2008 June 14, “Federer Extends Streak”, in The New York Times, sourced from The Associated Press, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022:
2. A competition that narrows a field of contestants (semifinalists) to a set of finalists, for a subsequent final.

Forms

Deriveds

semifinalist

Descendants

semifinal · semifinal

Relateds

final · quarterfinal

Synonyms

semi · last four

Translations (41)

ja 準決勝 (competition) · th รองสุดท้าย (competition) · tr semifinal (competition) · ko 사강 (competition) · vi bán kết (competition) · la semifinale (competition) · ka ნახევარფინალი (competition) · fi semifinaali (competition) · yue 四強 /四强 (competition) · de Halbfinale (competition) · tl mala-pangwakas (competition) · tr dömifinal (competition) · cs semifinále (competition) · pt meia-final (competition) · es semifinal (competition) · el ημιτελικός (competition) · ja 四強 (competition) · nl halve finale (competition) · mk полуфина́ле (competition) · tr yarı final (competition) · et poolfinaal (competition) · la semifinalis (competition) · da semifinale (competition) · ga cluiche leathcheannais (competition) · cmn 四強 /四强 (competition) · tl malapangwakas (competition) · de Semifinale (competition) · sw nusu fainali (competition) · pl półfinał (competition) · sv semifinal (competition) · ko 준결승 (competition) · fi välierä (competition) · ar الدور قبل النهائي (competition) · pt semifinal (competition) · fr demi-finale (competition) · hu elődöntő (competition) · bg полуфина́л (competition) · it semifinale (competition) · uk півфіна́л (competition) · ru полуфина́л (competition) · cmn 半決賽 /半决赛 (competition)