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• half
  half

  noun

  one of two equal or approximately equal parts of a divisible whole, as an object, or unit of measure or time; a part of a whole equal or almost equal to the remainder.
• half-
  half-

  prefix

  one of two equal parts

half

American  

[haf] / hæf /

noun

• halves
  plural

1. one of two equal or approximately equal parts of a divisible whole, as an object, or unit of measure or time; a part of a whole equal or almost equal to the remainder.

2. a quantity or amount equal to such a part (½).

3. Sports. either of two equal periods of play, usually with an intermission or rest period separating them.

4. one of two; a part of a pair.

5. Informal.

   1. half dollar.

   2. the sum of 50 cents.

      Four dimes and two nickels make a half.

6. Baseball. either of the two units of play into which an inning is divided, the visiting team batting in the first unit and the home team batting in the second.

7. Football. a halfback.

8. British Informal.

   1. a half-crown coin.

   2. the sum of a half crown; two shillings, sixpence.

   3. a half pint.

      He ordered a half of ale.

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adjective

1. being one of two equal or approximately equal parts of a divisible whole.

   a half quart.

2. being half or about half of anything in degree, amount, length, etc..

   at half speed; half sleeve.

3. partial or incomplete.

   half measures.

adverb

1. in or to the extent or measure of half.

2. in part; partly; incompletely.

   half understood.

   Synonyms:

   partially, somewhat, barely

3. to some extent; almost.

   half recovered.

idioms

1. by half, by very much; by far.

   She was too talented by half for her routine role.

2. not half,

   1. not at all; not really.

      His first attempts at painting are not half bad.

   2. half.

3. half again as much / many, as much as 50 percent more.

   This mug holds half again as much coffee as the smaller one.

4. not the half of, a significant yet relatively minor part of something that remains to be described in full: Also not half of, not half.

   He accused them of being responsible for the error, and that's not the half of the story.

5. half in two, in or into two parts; in half.

   Cut the cake half in two.

6. in half, divided into halves.

   The vase broke in half.

half ¹ British  

/ hɑːf /

noun

1. 1. either of two equal or corresponding parts that together comprise a whole

   2. a quantity equalling such a part

      half a dozen

2. half a pint, esp of beer

3. a small drink of spirits, esp whisky

4. sport the half of the pitch regarded as belonging to one team

5. golf an equal score on a hole or round with an opponent

6. (in various games) either of two periods of play separated by an interval (the first half and second half )

7. a half-price ticket on a bus, train, etc

8. short for half-hour

9. short for halfpenny

10. sport short for halfback

11. obsolete a half-year period

12. humorous a person's wife or husband

13. by an excessive amount or to an excessive degree

    he's too arrogant by half

14. (used with a negative) without being thorough or exhaustive

    we don't do things by halves

15. 1. to share the expenses (of something with one other person)

    2. to share the whole amount (of something with another person)

       to go halves on an orange

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determiner

1. 1. being a half or approximately a half

      half the kingdom

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      half of them came

adjective

1. not perfect or complete; partial

   he only did a half job on it

adverb

1. to the amount or extent of a half

2. to a great amount or extent

3. partially; to an extent

4. informal 30 minutes after two o'clock

5. to have the intention of

6. informal

   1. not in any way

      he's not half clever enough

   2. really; very; indeed

      he isn't half stupid

   3. certainly; yes, indeed

half- ² British  

prefix

1. one of two equal parts

   half-moon

2. related by one parent only

   half-sister

3. not completely; partly

   half-hardy

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half More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing half

• at half-mast
• better half
• by half
• glass is half full
• go halfway
• go off (half-cocked)
• halfway
• halves
• in half
• not bad (half bad)
• six of one, half dozen of the other
• time and a half
• with half an eye

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Grammar

See well ¹.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• halves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of half

before 900; Middle English; Old English h ( e ) alf; cognate with German Halb, Old Norse halfr, Gothic halbs

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Explanation

When something is divided into two equal sections, half is one of the two parts. You can split a brownie in half if you want to share it with your friend. You might live half the year in Alaska and half in Florida — in this case, you spend six months, one half of a 12-month period, in each state. You can also divide food in half or save half your paycheck each week, while spending the other half. Your half brother is a sibling who shares one of your parents; you and he might have the same mother but different fathers. In Old English, half means "side" or "part."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

half half- halves

They include Kimi K3.1 Pro from Chinese company Moonshot, which costs half as much as Claude Opus 5.5, Anthropic’s current flagship.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Since it first emerged half a century ago, Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

It also disclosed an $80.7 billion net loss for the first half of the year, a figure that largely reflects an accounting adjustment related to financing agreements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

The company posted sales of $16.2 billion for the first half of 2026, according to its prospectus.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

His pack-brother was slumped over a log, half in the Wet.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

The characters are half-, let’s say three-quarters-formed, which is formed enough; everyone plays their part.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2026

The ECB slowed the pace of its rate hikes from big moves of half- or three-quarters of a percentage point to a quarter-point at its May 4 meeting.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2023

Tucker- who had switched defenively to Jokic and slowed him down in the second half- followed a Harden missed 3-pointer with a tip-in with over a minute left to stretch the lead to five.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2023

Despite studying alongside people from across the world, other students find my half- mumble the most difficult accent to understand.

From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2022

The siren, a cacophony of twelve crazed bobcats, was enough to make suspicious characters within a half- mile radius defecate in panic and rush for cover.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Matches are played in an 8v8 format, on smaller pitches and with 20-minute halves.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

The exhibition, which opened Sunday in East Hollywood, aims to unify both halves of his work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Using that structural information, the chemists were able to make the connection between the molecule's two halves more rigid.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

“You could have folded a picture of them, and the two halves would’ve matched,” Herzog writes.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

And he brought out the tightly folded sheet of India paper just as the two halves of the acorn fell apart in her hands, showing it to be empty.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

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