semiarid
adjective
semiarid is an adjective meaning “Somewhat arid, receiving little rainfall but more than an arid area would, typically defined as 25 to 50 cm of rainfall annually” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled S-E-M-I-A-R-I-D, and it appears about once in every 10 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does semiarid mean?
adjective
- 1
Somewhat arid, receiving little rainfall but more than an arid area would, typically defined as 25 to 50 cm of rainfall annually.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of semiarid
- more semiarid comparative
- most semiarid superlative
- semi-arid
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is semiarid?
Semiarid appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Words people confuse with semiarid
Also written: semi-arid (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Semiarid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense 25 to 50 cm rainfall annually:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | semiarid |
| Spanish | semiárido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does semiarid come from?
From semi- + arid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).