noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -aɪnəl
CMU ARPABET:S EH2 M IY0 F AY1 N AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:S EH2 M IH0 F AY1 N AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 3:S EH2 M AY0 F AY1 N AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A playoff in the round with only four players or teams left, the stage before the final.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A competition that narrows a field of contestants (semifinalists) to a set of finalists, for a subsequent final.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
one of the two competitions in the next to the last round of an elimination tournament
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: semi
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: match
History
Etymology
From Latin semifinalis, equivalent to semi- + final.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
الدور قبل النهائي
— competition
Bulgarian:
полуфина́л
(polufinál)
— competition
Chinese Cantonese:
四強 /四强
(sei3 koeng4)
— competition
Chinese Mandarin:
半決賽 /半决赛
(bànjuésài)
— competition