a silver or cupronickel coin of the U.S., equal to 50 cents.
a silver or nickel coin of Canada, equal to 50 cents.
First recorded in 1755–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The rare half dollar has been off the market since the 1980s.
From Fox News ● Nov. 13, 2019
In the walk-in fridge at Regalis, he pulls out a carefully vacuum-sealed bag of Périgord truffles, Tuber melanosporum, rough black orbs the diameter of a half dollar.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 21, 2017
And that con involving the Kennedy half dollar marks one of the few times that the audience was a step ahead of the writers.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2015
The slain president's profile debuted on the half dollar 50 years ago, and the image was subtly tweaked in the 1990s.
From US News ● Jul. 24, 2014
Occasionally I went to house-rent parties, parties given by working-class families to raise money to pay the landlord, the admission to which was a quarter or a half dollar.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
The only previous such instance in the country’s history was a 1926 commemorative half-dollar showing then-President Calvin Coolidge alongside George Washington.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Old silver dollars and half-dollar coins fetch even more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
The half-dollar boost resulted from a 2016 law that mandated inflation-related adjustments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2023
The bees collected range in size from no bigger than the head of a pin to roughly the size of a half-dollar.
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2022
He put his hand into the pocket and pulled out a coin the size of a half-dollar.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
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.
