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
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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.
She calls her accent “a war crime,” and grows frustrated in class that she can’t easily explain what she’s thinking and feeling in her halting English.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 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
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
The halting of much Middle East gas production is causing a surge in benchmark natural gas prices in Europe on concerns global demand will be chasing less supply.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
In halting Spanish, Yolanda reports on her sisters.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
