Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

semester

/sɪˈmɛstɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.03 in modern English

Syllables
se-mes-ter
IPA
/sɪˈmɛstɚ/
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Half of a school year (US) or academic year such as autumn or spring semester.

noun

A period or term of six months.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From German Semester, from New Latin sēmestris (“lasting six months”), from sex (“six”) + mēnsis (“month”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: Semester, sēmestris

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /sɪˈmɛstɚ/
  • British English: /sɪˈmɛstə/

Inflected Forms

semesters (plural) semestre (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

Maymester midsemester postsemester semestered semestering semesterly

Phrases

semester hours semester school half-year

Frequently Paired Words

bimester half-year term trimester

Rhymes With

investor leicester chester lester esther sylvester tester hester polyester trimester ester jester

Questions

How do you pronounce semester?
The recorded pronunciation is /sɪˈmɛstɚ/.
What does semester mean?
Half of a school year (US) or academic year such as autumn or spring semester.
Where does semester come from?
It is traced to German.

How to pronounce semester

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “semester”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sɪˈmɛstɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “semester”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “semester” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.