Definition of "semiautomatic" [semiautomatic]

• Partially automatic. (adjective)
• Ejecting a shell and loading the next round of ammunition automatically, but requiring a squeeze of the trigger for each shot. Used of a firearm. (adjective)
• A semiautomatic firearm. Also called self-loader. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Do they make a .458 Lott in semiautomatic with a 30 round clip?"
• "Bender declined to say when or how the boy got the gun, which was identified as a semiautomatic 9 mm Kel-Tec."
• "A semiautomatic is defined as a weapon that is not fully automatic, and thus not a machine gun."