half-pound

[ haf-pound, hahf- ]

noun

1. a unit of weight equal to 8 ounces avoirdupois (0.227 kilogram) or 6 ounces troy or apothecaries' weight (0.187 kilogram).

Word History and Origins

Origin of half-pound¹

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

Dangling at the ends of the lines were a handful of Dotonbori’s best-kept serpentine secret: yellow-flank eels, about two feet long and a half-pound heavy.

From National Geographic

“We aim for half-pound bulbs.”

From Seattle Times

By the early 19th century in Vienna, a cup of coffee cost roughly the same as a half-pound cut of beef.

From National Geographic

“But if they’re doing like a half-pound, a pound, you want at least $250 to $300 a week from them,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a blindfolded tasting, a test to cut four half-pound pieces of cheese without pre-weighing, an oral test and a multiple choice quiz — in addition to the gantlet Rollins and Johnson re-created in Burien, which is weighted more heavily in scoring than the other tests.

From Seattle Times