Meaning & use
semi-private room
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Meaning
nouncountable
A room, especially in a hospital, that you share with one other person rather than with a large group.
Grammar: Countable: a semi-private room, two semi-private rooms. Often used with 'in': in a semi-private room.
Patterns
- in a semi-private room
- a semi-private room with someone
- request a semi-private room
After her operation, she was moved to a semi-private room with one other patient.
The hospital charges less for a semi-private room than for a private one.
He asked whether a semi-private room was available so his mother would not be alone.
Word forms
| plural | semi-private rooms |
|---|
Common combinations
- a semi-private room with one other patient
- She spent the night in a semi-private room with one other patient.
- upgrade to a semi-private room
- For a small extra fee, you can upgrade to a semi-private room.
- share a semi-private room
- Patients often share a semi-private room during busy periods.
- a semi-private room rate
- The insurance plan covers the semi-private room rate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shared room
- More general and used outside hospitals too; 'semi-private room' specifically suggests just one roommate and some privacy.
- double room
- Common in hotels for a room with one large bed or two beds; in a hospital it usually means two patients, not two beds for one person.
Opposites
Word family
- private room noun
- A room used by one person alone, especially in a hospital or hotel.
- semi-private adjective
- Partly private; shared with a small number of others.
Commonly confused: semi-private room or semi-private?
semi-private room vs semi-private
'Semi-private' is the adjective; 'semi-private room' is the full noun phrase. You would say 'a semi-private room', not 'a semi-private' on its own.
Practice
The hospital gave him a semi-private room, so he shared it with ___.
Choose one answer.
'Semi-private' means partly private, so the room is shared with one other person. 'No one at all' would be a private room, and 'the whole ward' would be a public or open ward.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “semi-private room”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.