semi-detached

[,semidi'tætʃt]

semi-detached (adj.): in reference to houses, 1845, from semi- + past participle of detach (v.).
The "Detached House" bears its peculiar characteristic on its front; it stands alone, and nothing more can be said about it; but with the "semi-detached house" there is a subtle mystery, much to be marvelled at. Semi-detached! Have the party-walls between two houses shrunk, or is there a bridge connecting the two, as in Mr. Beckford's house in Landsdown Crescent, Bath? A semi-detached house may be a house with a field on one side and a bone-boiling factory on the other. Semi-detached may mean half-tumbling to pieces. I must inquire into it. ["Houses to Let," in "Household Words," March 20, 1852]

1. It would be a disaster for them not to reach the semi-finals.: 如果不能挺进半决赛，对他们来说就是完败。

3. The top four seeded nations are through to the semi-finals.: 排名前四位的国家进入半决赛。

4. He couldn't recapture the form he'd shown in getting to the semi-final.: 他没能找回闯进半决赛时表现出来的状态。