Plain English Meaning
A way of building the body of an aircraft where the outer skin and an inner frame work together to carry the loads, instead of relying on just one or the other.
Full Definition
A fuselage construction method in which the aircraft's external skin carries most of the structural loads, supported by an internal framework of vertical formers (bulkheads), horizontal stringers, and longerons. Loads are shared between the skin and the underlying frame, rather than carried entirely by either alone.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft structure discussions, especially when learning how a fuselage is built and why skin damage, loose fasteners, or bent supports matter.
Derivation
From 'semi-' (Latin, meaning 'half' or '') and '' (French, from Greek 'monos' meaning 'single' and French 'coque' meaning ''). A pure monocoque is a 'single shell' that carries all the loads in its skin. 'Semimonocoque' literally means 'partial single-shell' -- the skin still carries loads, but it shares the work with an internal frame.