half

[ haf ]

noun

, plural halves [havz].

1. one of two equal or approximately equal parts of a divisible whole, as an object, or unit of measure or time; a part of a whole equal or almost equal to the remainder.
2. a quantity or amount equal to such a part (½).
3. Sports. either of two equal periods of play, usually with an intermission or rest period separating them. Compare quarter ( def 10 ).
4. one of two; a part of a pair.
5. Informal.
   1. half dollar.
   2. the sum of 50 cents:

      Four dimes and two nickels make a half.

6. Baseball. either of the two units of play into which an inning is divided, the visiting team batting in the first unit and the home team batting in the second.
7. Football. a halfback.
8. British Informal.
   1. a half-crown coin.
   2. the sum of a half crown; two shillings, sixpence.
   3. a half pint:

      He ordered a half of ale.

adjective

1. being one of two equal or approximately equal parts of a divisible whole:

   a half quart.

2. being half or about half of anything in degree, amount, length, etc.:

   at half speed; half sleeve.

3. partial or incomplete:

   half measures.

adverb

1. in or to the extent or measure of half.
2. in part; partly; incompletely:

   half understood.

   Synonyms: partially, somewhat, barely

3. to some extent; almost:

   half recovered.

half

¹

/ hɑːf /

noun

1. 1. either of two equal or corresponding parts that together comprise a whole
   2. a quantity equalling such a part

      half a dozen

2. half a pint, esp of beer
3. a small drink of spirits, esp whisky
4. sport the half of the pitch regarded as belonging to one team
5. golf an equal score on a hole or round with an opponent
6. (in various games) either of two periods of play separated by an interval (the first half and second half )
7. a half-price ticket on a bus, train, etc
8. short for half-hour
9. short for halfpenny
10. sport short for halfback
11. obsolete.
    a half-year period
12. better half humorous.
    a person's wife or husband
13. by half
    by an excessive amount or to an excessive degree

    he's too arrogant by half

14. by halves
    used with a negative without being thorough or exhaustive

    we don't do things by halves

15. go halves
    often foll byon, in, etc
    1. to share the expenses (of something with one other person)
    2. to share the whole amount (of something with another person)

       to go halves on an orange

determiner

1. 1. being a half or approximately a half

      half the kingdom

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      half of them came

adjective

1. not perfect or complete; partial

   he only did a half job on it

adverb

1. to the amount or extent of a half
2. to a great amount or extent
3. partially; to an extent
4. half two informal.
   30 minutes after two o'clock
5. have half a mind to
   to have the intention of
6. not half informal.
   1. not in any way

      he's not half clever enough

   2. really; very; indeed

      he isn't half stupid

   3. certainly; yes, indeed

half-

²

prefix

1. one of two equal parts

   half-moon

2. related by one parent only

   half-sister

3. not completely; partly

   half-hardy

Grammar Note

See well ¹.

Word History and Origins

Origin of half¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English h ( e ) alf; cognate with German Halb, Old Norse halfr, Gothic halbs

Word History and Origins

Origin of half¹

Old English healf; related to Old Norse halfr, Old High German halb, Dutch half

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. by half, by very much; by far:

   She was too talented by half for her routine role.

2. half again as much / many, as much as 50 percent more:

   This mug holds half again as much coffee as the smaller one.

3. half in two, Southern U.S. (chiefly Gulf States). in or into two parts; in half:

   Cut the cake half in two.

4. in half, divided into halves:

   The vase broke in half.

5. not half,
   1. not at all; not really:

      His first attempts at painting are not half bad.

   2. half ( def 20 ).
6. not the half of, a significant yet relatively minor part of something that remains to be described in full: Also not half of, not half.

   He accused them of being responsible for the error, and that's not the half of the story.

More idioms and phrases containing half

• at half-mast
• better half
• by half
• glass is half full
• go halfway
• go off (half-cocked)
• in half
• not bad (half bad)
• six of one, half dozen of the other
• time and a half
• with half an eye
• halfway
• halves

Example Sentences

The number fell to 66,620 this year, of whom about half are researchers, the Russian statistics service Rosstat said in a report published on 8 November; others include support staff and technicians.

From Science Magazine

Interestingly, about half of these adaptive signals were detectable only in the oldest time periods, meaning they later vanished due to genetic drift or were masked by extensive population mixing.

From Science Daily

However, Oklahoma is expected to become around two and a half degrees hotter in the next 20 years.

From Salon

However, only half of them know they have the disease.

From Science Daily

Then, the brain tissue was instantly frozen and split apart into two halves.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• partly