semisolid

adjective

semi·​sol·​id ˌse-mē-ˈsä-ləd 

ˌse-ˌmī-,

-mi-

: having the qualities of both a solid and a liquid : highly viscous

semisolid noun

Examples of semisolid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Note: If the mess is semisolid, use something like a sturdy piece of cardboard or paper plate to scoop up and dispose of the matter, then use paper towels to absorb any remaining liquid mess. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025

Underneath the crust is the mantle, an 1,800-mile-thick layer of semisolid silicate materials ranging in temperature from 1,800 degrees to 6,700 degrees Fahrenheit. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

The resulting semisolid curds and clear whey are further manipulated for different kinds of tofu. —Andrea Nguyen, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023

Bologna is a semisolid meat product made from one or more livestock sources, most commonly beef or pork, and may contain poultry meat. —Elsbeth Sites, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015

Thick semisolid formulas, gel deodorants go on wet and dry quickly for complete and lasting protection. —Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 June 2022

Roughly 90 percent of quakes on Earth are produced by the movement of tectonic plates, massive slabs of the planet’s lithosphere that slide around atop the semisolid asthenosphere layer and occasionally bump into one another. —Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 24 May 2022

Petroleum jelly, which is also known as petrolatum and was first sold by Vaseline, is a white or yellowish semisolid substance made up of a mixture of complex hydrocarbons by dewaxing crude oil. —Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2021

Probably to help conserve water, most birds put their excess nitrogen exclusively into uric acid, which is much less soluble than urea and so can be excreted as a semisolid paste along with wastes from the digestive tract. —Harold McGee, Wired, 6 Nov. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for semisolid

• solid
• squalid
• stolid

Kids Definition

semisolid

adjective

semi·​sol·​id ˌsem-i-ˈsäl-əd 

ˌsem-ˌī-

: having the qualities of both a solid and a liquid

semisolid noun

Medical Definition

semisolid

adjective

semi·​sol·​id -ˈsäl-əd 

: having the qualities of both a solid and a liquid : highly viscous

semisolid waste