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Glite Dictionary
📊 A statistical error 🏫 A school term
sem

sem

1 8.8
A period of study at a school or college, usually about half a year
  • noun
  • /sɛm/
  • Informal
translation icon : semestre
  • During the first sem, we learned a lot about different cultures in our class.

Examples

  • You mentioned Jogba as one is your your first signings SEM as well.

  • The results of the SEM analysis indicate that reading comprehension in Spanish and English had a significant effect on passage fluency.

    Academic text (2011)

  • This sem is going to be our hardest yet, with so many projects due.

  • I always look forward to the start of a new sem; it feels like a fresh start.

Synonyms

semester
vssem
283 1.5

A period that is half the school or university year for classes and exams

is the informal short form used in speech and writing
school term
vssem
1 1.0

A period when a school has regular classes

is a shorter informal label for a specific half year division
academic term
vssem
2.7

A period when a school or university holds classes

is narrower and refers to a specific half year division not any period
academic session
vssem
3.5

The period when classes are held at a school or university

is one specific division within the academic year rather than that whole period

Surface Forms

sem singular
sems plural

Etymology

Sem is a short form of semester, which has the part semi- meaning 'half' and originally meant a 'half year'. That's why a sem is the school period that covers about half of an academic year.