half brother

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noun

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of half brother

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use half brother in a sentence

Nina Straight says her half-brother was “a physical coward but not scared of death.”
Gore Vidal’s Tragic Final Decade|Tim Teeman|November 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Cristian Fernandez faces life in prison for allegedly killing his 2-year-old half-brother.
Fla. May Put 13-Year-Old Away for Life; Supreme Court Says Not So Fast|Eliza Shapiro|October 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Abdullah elevated its former chief, and his half-brother, Prince Muqrin, to a senior-adviser job.
The Return of Prince Bandar: Saudi’s New Spy Chief|Bruce Riedel|July 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
My stepfather never really accepted me and always treated me differently from my half-brother.
A Father’s Day Transgender Surprise|Maria M. Chico|June 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST

His half-brother, Ahmed Wali, was gunned down last July by one of his security guards.
Hamid Karzai Tells The Daily Beast That U.S. Night Raids Must End|Ron Moreau, Sami Yousafzai|January 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
His half-brother, Howroyd, gives twice as much, with not a quarter his money.
Sarah's School Friend|May Baldwin
The detective in the case told me that they had an older half brother—that their mother had been married before.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
The entertainment of a new and unsuspected half brother—sinister, hey?
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
In this and the four following strophes the person alluded to is their half-brother Erp, of whose story nothing more is known.
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson|Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson
I knew perfectly well who you were, whence you came, and what your father's half-brother had done.'
Greifenstein|F. Marion Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for half brother

half-brother

noun

the son of either of one's parents by another partner

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012