half-length

[ haf-lengkth, -length, -lenth, hahf- ]

/ ˈhæfˌlɛŋkθ, -ˌlɛŋθ, -ˌlɛnθ, ˈhɑf- /

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noun

something that is only half a full length or height, especially a portrait that shows only the upper half of the body, including the hands.

adjective

of half the complete length or height.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of half-length

First recorded in 1690–1700

Words nearby half-length

half-jack, half-joking, half landing, half-lap joint, half-leather, half-length, half-life, half-light, half-line, halfling, half-liter

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

How to use half-length in a sentence

Eric Garcetti succeeded Villaraigosa and has received high marks in his first year and a half on the job.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To his critics, he explained—sometimes at painful length—his reasoning against it.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
My dad was a sailor, and all through my childhood he was away half of the time at sea, and to an extent I have a similar job.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As a result, training squadrons—called Formal Training Units (FTU)—are being staffed with less than half the people they need.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says|Dave Majumdar|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Travel Noire fellows earned about a half million travel miles in 2014.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It ended on a complaint that she was 'tired rather and spending my time at full length on a deck-chair in the garden.'
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
It is the principal waste-product of metabolism, and constitutes about one-half of all the solids excreted—about 30 gm.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Hilda, trembling at the door, more than half expected Mr. Orgreave to say: "You mean, she's invited herself."
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
All changes are to be Rang either by walking them (as the term is) or else Whole-pulls, or Half-pulls.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman

British Dictionary definitions for half-length

half-length

adjective

(of a portrait) showing only the body from the waist up and including the hands

of half the entire or original length

noun

a half-length portrait

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