Meaning & use
semi-annually
Last updated
Meaning
adverbnot comparable
Two times each year, usually about six months apart.
Grammar: Goes with a verb: the fee is paid semi-annually.
Patterns
- be paid semi-annually
- review something semi-annually
The bank pays interest semi-annually, in June and December.
The committee meets semi-annually to review the budget.
Tenants are billed semi-annually for building maintenance.
Common combinations
- paid semi-annually
- Dividends are paid semi-annually.
- reviewed semi-annually
- Staff performance is reviewed semi-annually.
- billed semi-annually
- Insurance premiums can be billed semi-annually.
- inspected semi-annually
- The boilers are inspected semi-annually.
- meets semi-annually
- The board meets semi-annually.
Synonyms and how they differ
- twice a year
- This is the plain everyday phrase; semi-annually sounds more formal and appears in contracts and reports.
- biannually
- Biannually also usually means twice a year but is often mixed up with biennially, so semi-annually is clearer.
- half-yearly
- Half-yearly is the more British form and means the same thing.
Opposites
Word family
- semi-annual adjective
- happening twice a year
- annually adverb
- once a year
- annual adjective
- yearly
- biannually adverb
- twice a year
Commonly confused: semi-annually or biennially? semi-annually or semi-monthly?
semi-annually vs biennially
Biennially means once every two years, not twice a year. It is often confused with biannually.
semi-annually vs semi-monthly
Semi-monthly means twice a month, not twice a year.
Practice
If a magazine is published semi-annually, how many issues appear in a year?
Choose one answer.
Semi-annually means twice a year. One would be annually, and four or twelve would be quarterly or monthly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “semi-annually”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.