Also called nimbus. a geometric shape, usually in the form of a disk, circle, ring, or rayed structure, traditionally representing a radiant light around or above the head of a divine or sacred personage, an ancient or medieval monarch, etc.
an atmosphere or quality of glory, majesty, sanctity, or the like.
The "profession" of a medieval lord cast a halo around him and made him a ruler of men.
Meteorology. any of a variety of bright circles or arcs centered on the sun or moon, caused by the refraction or reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the earth's atmosphere and exhibiting prismatic coloration ranging from red inside to blue outside (distinguished from corona).
Astronomy. a spherical cloud of gas clusters and stars that form part of a spiral galaxy.
any of various other things resembling a halo, especially a lighter or differently colored area surrounding an object.
I think the scab was from some kind of bite, and now there's a halo around it with bruising.
Also called Cellini's halo. Heiligenschein.
an undesirable bright or dark ring surrounding an image on the fluorescent screen of a television tube, due to some fault either in transmission or reception.
a disc or ring of light around the head of an angel, saint, etc, as in painting or sculpture
the aura surrounding an idealized, famous, or admired person, thing, or event
a circle of light around the sun or moon, caused by the refraction of light by particles of ice
astronomy a spherical cloud of stars surrounding the Galaxy and other spiral galaxies
indicating salt or the sea
halophyte
relating to or containing a halogen
halothane
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin, accusative of halōs “circle around the sun or moon,” from Greek hálōs “threshing floor; grain on a threshing floor; shield; halo”
< Greek, combining form of háls salt
A glowing light that circles something, like the moon or a person's head is a halo. Painters of religious art often put a halo around the heads of angels and saints. A halo is a symbol of holiness, represented by a circle or arc of light around the head of a saint or holy person. Any circle of light can be described as a halo, even in a non-religious context; sometimes you'll see a glowing halo of light around the moon, for example. The word halo also means "glory or majesty," a symbolic halo rather than a physical one. The Greek halos means "ring of light around the sun or moon."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Painters also adopted European conventions emphasizing divine rule in imperial portraits, as in a posthumous one of Akbar with a halo and winged cherubs above him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Originally, it had a little halo, but it broke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
The featured object is NGC 6426, a globular cluster located in the outer halo of the Milky Way.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Investors should know who could be affected by the SpaceX halo effect.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
He’s bald, but not shaved-head bald—old bald with thin white hairs in a halo around him.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Encircling the footprint of each roundhouse were "middens," haloes of rubbish dumped from the stilt village above, included broken pots, butchered animal bone, and "coprolites" or fossilised faeces.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2024
Andromeda is so close to the Milky Way that their individual haloes may be interacting, bumping into each other as the two galaxies pass in space.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 12, 2023
The glory that now haloes the vineyard valleys of Sonoma and Santa Ynez, Alexander and Edna, the Russian River, and other dales and vales, once belonged to Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2022
Accretion disks are fast-spinning haloes of matter that orbit around black holes at high speeds.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2021
Above them, the ceiling light dropped haloes in their hair as they listened on.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
“I was there, and I was a pop star — my thing was wearing ornate halos all the time,” you might say.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
This behavior can strongly influence dark matter halos, the massive concentrations of dark matter that surround galaxies and help guide their evolution.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 19, 2026
Mr. Lloyd’s buttery tone is set within soaring lines, circular loops and halos of sound from Mr. Sewell’s custom-made electric guitar, and answered by delicate figures from Mr. Moran’s piano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
Some clear glass halos and discs hang in space, suspended on filament.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024
“It’s whatever you want. No limitations. If you’re into angels and halos and ghost dogs, then cool. If you wanna fly, you do you. If you wanna go back in time, knock yourself out.”
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
I’m not ashamed to admit that there have been times when those 32-ounce tubs just stare at me day after day, haloed by the refrigerator light, moving further from consumable and closer to petri dish.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026
“The way her hijab haloed Nour’s head” gives her a saintly presence, “or so Jimmy thought.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Angels pride was evident throughout the space, from the beer mirrors on the wall to the black plastic coaster stand adorned with a large red haloed “A.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2022
“It made a lasting impression — Grace sitting there, powerful and chic, in charge and otherworldly, haloed in backlight from the high-floor window with New York as her backdrop,” she added.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
At each road intersection Billy’s group was joined by more Americans with their hands on top of their haloed heads.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
She became slimmer, blonder, sleeker, her cheekbones carved by shadow, a golden nimbus haloing her hair.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 19, 2015
One of his plates showed the wounded gunman seated on the pavement, the girl clasping his head to her shoulder, the alert hands of policemen and detectives haloing the couple's heads.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then I thought, how could this Doctor Gordon help me anyway, with a beautiful wife and beautiful children and a beautiful dog haloing him like the angels on a Christmas card?
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
They weren’t solid gray, but filaments of a hundred different grays and blues and pearls, and they looked like reflections of light wavering on water, with the softest sunburst of amber haloing his pupils.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Her hair is a frizzy nest haloing her plump white face.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
