- characterized by scanty rainfall and scrubby vegetation, often occurring in continental interiors
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
sem•i•ar•id
(sem′ē ar′id, sem′ī-),USA pronunciation adj. (of a region, land, etc.)
sem•i•a•rid•ity
(sem′ē ə rid′i tē, sem′ī-),USA pronunciation n.
- Meteorologycharacterized by very little annual rainfall, usually from 10 to 20 in. (25 to 50 cm):the struggle to raise vegetables in semiarid regions.
- 1895–1900, American.; semi- + arid
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
semiarid /ˌsɛmɪˈærɪd/ adj
'semiarid' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Brazil
- chernozem
- dik-dik
- dust bowl
- Great Basin
- Namaqualand
- New Mexico
- Paraguay
- Piauí
- Rio Grande do Norte
- Texas
- Victoria
- caliche
- coccidioidomycosis
- desertification
- duricrust
- grassland
- Great Plains
- leadwort family
- mesa
- pindan
- shortgrass