half-century

British

noun

a period of 50 years

during the past half-century
1. a score or grouping of 50
  
  a half-century of points
2. ( as modifier )
  
  as I near the half-century mark

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While average prices on typical goods and services as measured by the consumer-price index have risen roughly sixfold over the past half-century, median home prices have risen more than tenfold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

At the same time, the half-century long laissez faire regulatory environment of the U.S. is ending.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

All that, and a half-century in their previous run in L.A., and their membership in the most popular sports league in America, and the best they could do was 7%.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

A half-century later, the drink that was once a flop would crack $1 billion of annual revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Here we are more than a quarter-century after the prophesied date and more than a half-century after the prediction, and we can check to see what happened.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023