halting
Americanadjective
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faltering or hesitating, especially in speech.
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faulty or imperfect.
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limping or lame.
a halting gait.
adjective
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hesitant
halting speech
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lame
Other Word Forms
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.
It set 23 targets for halting and reversing nature loss by 2030, including reducing pollution, protecting threatened species and conserving 30 percent of the world's land and oceans.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
More than 1 million land mines are estimated to be in the DMZ, the no-man’s-land created as part of the armistice halting active hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Written by Phoebe Eclair-Powell, it comprises three stories over six episodes, with a longer mystery running below and the halting romantic do-si-do sprinkled on top.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Amodei also said pacing would not mean halting model training or technical progress.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
More and more water engulfed him, completely halting him before he could touch the ground.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
