halfway house

American  

noun

1. an inn or stopping place situated approximately midway between two places on a road.

2. any place considered as midway in a course.

3. a residence for former mental patients, convicts, or recovering drug users or alcoholics that serves as a transitional environment between confinement and the return to society.

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halfway house British  

noun

1. a place to rest midway on a journey

2. the halfway point in any progression

3. a centre or hostel designed to facilitate the readjustment to private life of released prisoners, mental patients, etc

4. a compromise

   a halfway house between fixed and floating exchange rates

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Etymology

Origin of halfway house

First recorded in 1685–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

halfway house

William Maxwell, who has been incarcerated for over a decade and says he is entitled to be transferred to a halfway house or home confinement, worked from a prison library in Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Robertson feels there's nothing wrong with going for the tried-and-tested locations, but parts of Spain are a nice halfway house between being suitable for tourists and a little unconventional for trips.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

After his release from jail, Brueckner was taken to a halfway house in Neumuenster, the magazine said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025

The 2007 Second Chance Act allows people to transition from prisons to the community, serving up to the final 12 months of their sentence in a halfway house.

From Slate ● Jul. 5, 2025

There were sixteen boys at the halfway house.

From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar

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