a silver or cupronickel coin of the U.S., equal to 50 cents.
a silver or nickel coin of Canada, equal to 50 cents.
First recorded in 1755–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We would set them out on a table together: the Japanese 5-yen coins that had holes in the middle; a silver Australian half dollar with a kangaroo and an emu standing next to a shield.
From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2021
The rare half dollar has been off the market since the 1980s.
From Fox News ● Nov. 13, 2019
In the walk-in fridge at Regalis, he pulls out a carefully vacuum-sealed bag of Périgord truffles, Tuber melanosporum, rough black orbs the diameter of a half dollar.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 21, 2017
The slain president's profile debuted on the half dollar 50 years ago, and the image was subtly tweaked in the 1990s.
From US News ● Jul. 24, 2014
In order that Tucker could keep at least one of each kind of coin, Harry Cat figured out that they should bring over one half dollar, four quarters, one dime, five nickels, and fifteen cents.
From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden
The only previous such instance in the country’s history was a 1926 commemorative half-dollar showing then-President Calvin Coolidge alongside George Washington.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Old silver dollars and half-dollar coins fetch even more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
A pack of four AirTag tracking devices cost $80 and are about the size of a half-dollar coin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
The bees collected range in size from no bigger than the head of a pin to roughly the size of a half-dollar.
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2022
In due course, however, as the black circular mass around each errant—and by now dried-up—sugarwater splash grew to the size of a half-dollar, the volunteer bestirred himself into action.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
