half pint
Americannoun
-
half of a pint, equal to 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) or 16 tablespoons (0.2 liter).
-
Informal. a very short person.
-
Slang. a person of little importance or influence.
Etymology
Origin of half pint
First recorded in 1605–15
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.
“Would you be horrified if I ordered a half pint of Guinness with blackcurrant?”
From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2018
All I got was queueing from one mediocre room to the next, with one big queue to wait for a half pint at the end.
From The Guardian • Dec. 15, 2017
Representative Wright Patman of Texas counseled: "Remember that in Russia milk costs $7 a half pint, butter $70 a pound, a suit of clothes $450."
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Home Front Senator Tom Connolly gave more than a half pint of his blood to the Red Cross.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
“I wonder who decided that a half pint of milk was enough.”
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
![]()
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.