semi-final
semi-final — noun
1. a match or round of a knockout competition that is held just before the final —
a match or round of a knockout competition that is held just before the final — the winners go through to fight for the championship, and the losers are out of the tournament.
Joon's team reached the semi-final for the first time in the club's sixty-year history.
reach the semi-final — common verb + noun collocation
Tamás scored the winning goal in the semi-final against the defending champions.
Sivan played the most composed tennis of her career in the semi-final on Centre Court.
Both semi-finals were on the same Saturday, so Karim had to recover between matches.
Iris watched her older brother's semi-final from the stands, cheering until she lost her voice.
- semifinal
same meaning; closed spelling preferred in American English
- penultimate round
more formal and technical; can describe any second-to-last stage, not only sports
- last four
informal; only works when exactly four competitors remain before the semi-finals
- final
the championship round that follows the semi-final
文法句型
reach the semi-final
qualify for the semi-final
in the semi-final
make it to the semi-finals
用法筆記
Often used in the plural ('the semi-finals') even when speaking about a single round of a tournament, because the round typically consists of two or more separate matches.
常見錯誤
semi-final — adjective
1. taking place in the round of a competition that comes right before the final, or
taking place in the round of a competition that comes right before the final, or describing a person or team playing in that round.
The semi-final match between Hari and the tournament favourite lasted over three hours.
semi-final match — attributive adjective + noun
For the first time, three Asian nations reached the semi-final stage of the World Cup.
semi-final stage — describing the level of the competition
Yael's semi-final opponent had won the previous four tournaments without losing a set.
The semi-final draw paired the two strongest teams together, leaving fans deeply disappointed.
A record audience of twelve million people watched the two semi-final games on Sunday evening.
- penultimate
broader term; applies to any second-to-last item, not just sports rounds
- pre-final
rare and mostly technical; semi-final is the standard term in everyday English
- final
describing the last and decisive round of a tournament
文法句型
semi-final + match/round/stage/game
semi-final + appearance/opponent/draw
用法筆記
Always placed directly before a noun (attributive). Cannot be used after a linking verb — 'the match is semi-final' is incorrect; say 'it is a semi-final match' or simply 'it is the semi-final' using the noun form.