half-mast
a position approximately halfway between the top of a mast, staff, etc., and its base.
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
1Words Nearby half-mast
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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.
Outside, somebody had taken care to lower the flags to half-mast.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTIf a male performer is only flying at half-mast, he may have to spend more time trying to get ready than actually performing.
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 | THE 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 GrileWherever his death is made known, the public business stops, and flags drop half-mast down.
The Trial of Theodore Parker | Theodore ParkerThe 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 ChittendenA 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 LymanHer 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
the lower than normal position to which a flag is lowered on a mast as a sign of mourning or distress
(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
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