halting
Americanadjective
-
faltering or hesitating, especially in speech.
-
faulty or imperfect.
-
limping or lame.
a halting gait.
adjective
-
hesitant
halting speech
-
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; see origin at 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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
This week's rulings came after the appeals court ordered the judge to reconsider the national security implications of halting the work after he temporarily blocked all construction of the ballroom in March.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
Once bond yields start rising, markets could get spooked, halting the current chase higher for markets.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
Colombia responded with 50-percent tariffs and by halting electricity sales to Ecuador, which has suffered chronic energy shortages.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
Quiñones told the board that reducing or halting the city’s use of water from the Mono Basin would be “unwarranted, imprudent, and place undue financial burden on LADWP’s ratepayers.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
Taking what might have been measured as a halting half step and then pulling a stiff, dead leg forward, dragging a foot turned sideways in the dust, the man limped into the yard.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
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.
