half-hour

American  

[haf-ouuhr, -ou-er, hahf-] / ˈhæfˈaʊər, -ˈaʊ ər, ˈhɑf- /

noun

1. a period of 30 minutes.

2. the midpoint between the hours.

   The clock struck on the half-hour.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of a half-hour.

   half-hour programs.

half-hour British  

noun

1. 1. a period of 30 minutes

   2. ( as modifier )

      a half-hour stint on the treadmill

2. 1. the point of time 30 minutes after the beginning of an hour

   2. ( as modifier )

      a half-hour chime

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Other Word Forms

• half-hourly adverb

Etymology

Origin of half-hour

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

Outside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Greenwich Village, young people are lining up a half-hour before Mass to get a seat.

From The Wall Street Journal

They could be a half-hour walk from Hudson Bay, or three hours.

From Literature

Over the summer, Hiester turned to a large language model to fix some code, expecting that it would take less than a half-hour.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It used to not be on the map,” Alatriste says of the artsy, up-and-coming neighborhood, just a half-hour drive south of downtown Miami Beach.

From MarketWatch

It takes her another 25 minutes on the train to get to Manchester Oxford Road station, before a further half-hour walk to the other side of campus for her first lecture of the day.

From BBC