half pay
Americannoun
-
half one's regular pay.
-
a reduced amount paid to a British army or navy officer when not in actual service or after retirement.
Etymology
Origin of half pay
First recorded in 1655–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She added she worked through the pandemic but was currently off work on half pay due to having long Covid.
From BBC • Nov. 7, 2022
At the casino, she pushed for new mothers to get full salary for maternity leave instead of half pay.
From Reuters • Jan. 6, 2022
They survived the pandemic — Bilal was on half pay for a while, but the government made up the other half.
From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2021
So it happened that at the end of his life, and when he was on half pay, and half an invalid, my father began to make a little money from his stories.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 30, 2019
I half pay attention as they make plans.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
