halting
Americanadjective
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faltering or hesitating, especially in speech.
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faulty or imperfect.
-
limping or lame.
a halting gait.
adjective
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hesitant
halting speech
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lame
Other Word Forms
- haltingly adverb
- haltingness noun
- unhalting adjective
- unhaltingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of halting
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; halt 2, -ing 2
Explanation
The adjective halting is used to describe something that is fragmentary or prone to interruptions. If you are overcome with emotion at your wedding, you may choke out your vows in a halting voice. The adjective halting can describe something or someone with limping or disabled legs or feet. If you have sprained your ankle and it's icy out this winter, you will probably walk with a halting gait and walk slowly and carefully. The word halting in this sense comes from the Old English word lemphalt, which means "limping."
Vocabulary lists containing halting
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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.
As a result, a leading driver of A.I. spending is halting a lot of the planned investments and infrastructure initiatives that it used to announce on a weekly basis.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
On 28 April 2025, shortly after midday, the Iberian peninsula's electricity supply was shut down, causing widespread chaos, cutting internet and telephone connections and halting transport links.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
Additionally, it sets timelines for claims payments and prohibits insurers from halting payments for temporary housing until a home is cleared as safe, if a state of emergency has been declared.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
With the conflict halting around 95% of prewar traffic through the corridor, according to Syracuse University supply chain management professor Patrick Penfield, markets are pricing in a conflict premium that flows to American pumps.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
He slams the stop button on the treadmill, the machine halting abruptly as he spins around to face me, fixing his nose cannula as he struggles to catch his breath.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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.
