half-inch

[ haf-inch, hahf- ]

/ ˈhæfˈɪntʃ, ˈhɑf- /

noun

a half of an inch, equal to 1/24 of a foot (1.27 centimeters).

Nearby words

half-holiday, half-hoping, half-hour, half-human, half-hunter, half-inch, half-integral, half-jack, half-joking, half-lap joint, half-leather

Origin of half-inch

First recorded in 1810–20

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for half-inch

The bread bakes up only about a half-inch thick,” explain the Lee brothers, “which means the crust-to-crumb ratio is quite high.
What to Eat: Southern Soul Food|Cookstr.com|January 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It requires an exceedingly steady hand to hold a plane firmly for squaring up a half-inch board.
Carpentry for Boys|J. S. Zerbe
Take two half-inch pine boards 10-1/4 feet long, and nail one lightly on each side of the mould.
Harper's Round Table, July 2, 1895|Various
Their down was a thin, scanty, fuzzy covering, and the flight feathers were less than a half-inch in length.
Jungle Peace|William Beebe

Mark the case, with a black-lead pencil, at every half-inch; suspend it in the lathe; and cut it at the marks.
The Pyrotechnist's Treasury|Thomas Kentish
Get the blacksmith to make two half-inch iron rods; these are to connect the rudders with the cross-piece.
Harper's Young People, April 19, 1881|Various

British Dictionary definitions for half-inch

half-inch

noun

a measure of length approximately equivalent to 13 millimetres

verb

slang, old-fashioned to steal

Word Origin for half-inch

sense 2: from rhyming slang for pinch to steal

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