half-day

British

noun

a day when one works only in the morning or only in the afternoon

"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.

A half-day lift ticket, which grants you access from noon until lifts close at 5 p.m., costs about $58, and you can rent a full set of gear for around $80.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

Shares in Nvidia were down 1.4% at $177.75 in early trading Friday—a shortened half-day for the market.

From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025

This policy is turning what was once a 10-minute process into a half-day ordeal, if you're lucky.

From Salon • May 27, 2025

Prosecution barrister Julian Christopher KC asked Mr Jones why he had taken a half-day off work on the Friday to visit the palace, rather than waiting until the weekend.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2025

Monday is a half-day because of parent-teacher conferences.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

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