half-mast

[ haf-mast, hahf-mahst ]

/ ˈhæfˈmæst, ˈhɑfˈmɑst /

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noun

a position approximately halfway between the top of a mast, staff, etc., and its base.

verb (used with object)

to place (a flag) at half-mast, as a mark of respect for the dead or as a signal of distress.

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Origin of half-mast

First recorded in 1620–30

Words nearby half-mast

halfling, half-liter, half-long, half-mad, half-marathon, half-mast, half measure, half-mile, half-miler, half-minute, halfmoon

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

How to use half-mast in a sentence

The failure to fly a flag at half mast was widely interpreted as an expression of disrespect.
Inside The Palace Panic After Diana's Death|Tom Sykes|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Outside, somebody had taken care to lower the flags to half-mast.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Flags will be flown at half mast on UK government buildings and British embassies from 8am to 8pm on the day of the funeral.
Full Details of Plans for Thatcher’s Funeral on Wednesday|Tom Sykes|April 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If a male performer is only flying at half-mast, he may have to spend more time trying to get ready than actually performing.
Blood, Sweat and Sex: My Hard Life in Porn|Aurora Snow|March 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Flags at the border crossing and private homes fly at half-mast in honor of Ivie.
Border Patrol Agent’s Death Dubbed Friendly Fire|Teresa Puente|October 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
We have found such a one, and our hat is at half-mast in token of profound esteem and conscious inferiority.
The Fiend's Delight|Dod Grile
Wherever his death is made known, the public business stops, and flags drop half-mast down.
The Trial of Theodore Parker|Theodore Parker
The storm is raging; Virginia has hung her flag at half-mast as a signal of distress.
A Report of the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention|Lucius Eugene Chittenden
A number of men, however, came to the schoolhouse and raised the old flag until it hung at half mast.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 (of 2)|William Denison Lyman
Her most faithful admirer, Consul Jansen, turned up with a big bunch of flowers, and hoisted the flag in his garden at half-mast.
Dry Fish and Wet|Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen

British Dictionary definitions for half-mast

half-mast

noun

the lower than normal position to which a flag is lowered on a mast as a sign of mourning or distress

verb

(tr) to put (a flag) in this position

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