Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Occurring or appearing twice each month.

2. Adverb:

   • At a frequency of twice each month; every two weeks.

3. Noun:

   • A publication, such as a magazine or newsletter, that is issued two times per month.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The company issues a semimonthly newsletter to all employees.
  • We have scheduled semimonthly team meetings for the project.

• Adverb:

  • Employees are paid semimonthly, on the 15th and the last day of the month.
  • The journal is published semimonthly.

• Noun:

  • She subscribes to a financial semimonthly.
  • The semimonthly features articles on local history.

Advanced Usage

• Frequency Clarification: It is important to distinguish (twice a month, often on specific dates like the 1st and 15th) from , which can mean either "twice a week" or "every two weeks." For absolute clarity in formal contexts, phrases like "twice a month" or "every two weeks" are often preferred.
  • Context: "The semimonthly payroll means you receive 24 paychecks a year."

Variants and Related Words

• Bimonthly: This word is a common source of confusion. It can mean both "every two months" and "twice a month." Due to this ambiguity, it is often avoided for precise scheduling.
• Fortnightly (chiefly British): Meaning "occurring every two weeks." This is a clearer synonym for the "every two weeks" meaning.

Synonyms

• Adjective/Adverb: twice-monthly, half-monthly (less common).
• Noun: biweekly (when meaning "twice a month"), twice-a-month publication.

Notes on Meaning

• The core meaning of is consistently "twice in one month." It does not necessarily mean "every two weeks," as two weeks is 14 days, while the interval between, for example, the 1st and the 15th of a month is 14 or 15 days, and between the 15th and the end of the month is 13 to 16 days. In practice, however, the terms and (in its "every two weeks" sense) are sometimes used interchangeably, though they create different yearly totals (24 vs. 26 periods).

Adjective

1. occurring twice a month
   • a semimonthly publication

Adverb

1. twice a month
   • salaries are paid semimonthly

Noun

1. a periodical that is published twice each month (or 24 issues per year)