half
half
hÃĻf
hāf
/hɑːf/

āχāĻ‚āϰ⧇āϜāĻŋāϤ⧇ "half"āĻāϰ āϏāĻ‚āĻœā§āĻžāĻž āĻ“ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āĻĨ

01

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

to the extent of one part out of two equal portions
half definition and meaning
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
We walked half and then took a bus for the rest.
āφāĻŽāϰāĻž āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻšā§‡āρāĻŸā§‡ āϤāĻžāϰāĻĒāϰ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•āĻŋāϟ⧁āϕ⧁āϰ āϜāĻ¨ā§āϝ āĻŦāĻžāϏ⧇ āϚāĻĄāĻŧāϞāĻžāĻŽāĨ¤
02

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāĻ‚āĻļāĻŋāĻ•āĻ­āĻžāĻŦ⧇

to a partial or limited extent
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
His explanation was half convincing at best.
āϤāĻžāϰ āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ–ā§āϝāĻž āϏāĻ°ā§āĻŦā§‹āĻšā§āϚ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻŦāĻžāϏāϝ⧋āĻ—ā§āϝ āĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤
2.1

āĻŽā§‹āĻŸā§‡āĻ“ āύāĻž, āĻāĻ•āĻĻāĻŽ āύāĻž

by any means, often used with negatives or ironic emphasis
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
He is n't half clever when it comes to solving puzzles.
āĻĒāĻžāϜāϞ āϏāĻŽāĻžāϧāĻžāύ āĻ•āϰāĻžāϰ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻāϞ⧇ āϏ⧇ āĻŽā§‹āĻŸā§‡āĻ“ āϚāĻžāϞāĻžāĻ• āύāϝāĻŧāĨ¤
01

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

either one of two equal parts of a thing
half definition and meaning
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
I cut the cake into halves and gave her one half.
āφāĻŽāĻŋ āϕ⧇āĻ•āϟāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻ•āϰ⧇ āϕ⧇āĻŸā§‡ āϤāĻžāϕ⧇ āĻāĻ•āϟāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻĻāĻŋāϝāĻŧ⧇āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤
1.1

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

a period of thirty minutes, used to denote time
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
Let 's meet at a quarter to five, not at the half.
āφāϏ⧁āύ āĻĒāĻžāρāϚāϟāĻžāϝāĻŧ āĻĒāύ⧇āϰ āĻŽāĻŋāύāĻŋāϟ āφāϗ⧇ āĻĻ⧇āĻ–āĻž āĻ•āϰāĻŋ, āφāϧāĻžāϤ⧇ āύāϝāĻŧāĨ¤
02

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•

the midpoint of the allotted time in a sports game or performance
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
It was raining hard by the time the half ended.
āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻļ⧇āώ āĻšāĻ“āϝāĻŧāĻžāϰ āϏāĻŽāϝāĻŧ āĻĒā§āϰāĻŦāϞ āĻŦ⧃āĻˇā§āϟāĻŋ āĻšāĻšā§āĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤
2.1

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻŽāĻžāĻ 

one of the two equal parts of the playing area in team sports
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
Defenders quickly retreated to their own half.
āĻĄāĻŋāĻĢ⧇āĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻžāϰāϰāĻž āĻĻā§āϰ⧁āϤ āϤāĻžāĻĻ⧇āϰ āύāĻŋāϜāĻ¸ā§āĻŦ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻ āĻĢāĻŋāϰ⧇ āϗ⧇āϞāĨ¤
2.2

āĻŽāĻŋāĻĄāĻĢāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻĄāĻžāϰ, āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•

a midfield player in sports like rugby, soccer, or field hockey
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
Their new half has exceptional vision and footwork.
āϤāĻžāĻĻ⧇āϰ āύāϤ⧁āύ āĻšāĻžāĻĢ āĻāϰ āĻ…āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖ āĻĻ⧃āĻˇā§āϟāĻŋāĻļāĻ•ā§āϤāĻŋ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻĢ⧁āϟāĻ“āϝāĻŧāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ• āϰāϝāĻŧ⧇āϛ⧇āĨ¤
2.3

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻĄā§āϰ

(golf) a score that ties with an opponent on a given hole
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
They settled for a half on the final hole.
āϤāĻžāϰāĻž āĻļ⧇āώ āĻ—āĻ°ā§āϤ⧇ āĻāĻ•āϟāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āϜāĻ¨ā§āϝ āύāĻŋāĻˇā§āĻĒāĻ¤ā§āϤāĻŋ.
03

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āϏāĻ™ā§āĻ—ā§€

a spouse or romantic partner
Humorous
Informal
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
His half could n't make it tonight.
āϤāĻžāϰ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āφāϜ āϰāĻžāϤ⧇ āφāϏāϤ⧇ āĻĒāĻžāϰ⧇āύāĻŋāĨ¤
04

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ āĻĒāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āϟ

a half-pint of beer or other drink
Dialectbritish flagBritish
Informal
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
Let 's start with a half and see how it goes.
āĻāĻ•āϟāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻĻāĻŋāϝāĻŧ⧇ āĻļ⧁āϰ⧁ āĻ•āϰāĻž āϝāĻžāĻ• āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻĻ⧇āĻ–āĻŋ āĻāϟāĻŋ āϕ⧀āĻ­āĻžāĻŦ⧇ āϝāĻžāϝāĻŧāĨ¤
05

āĻļāĻŋāĻļ⧁āϰ āϟāĻŋāĻ•āĻŋāϟ, āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ āϟāĻŋāĻ•āĻŋāϟ

a child's fare or ticket, typically cheaper than an adult's
Dialectbritish flagBritish
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
The ticket inspector asked if we had the right halves.
āϟāĻŋāϕ⧇āϟ āĻĒāϰāĻŋāĻĻāĻ°ā§āĻļāĻ• āϜāĻŋāĻœā§āĻžāĻžāϏāĻž āĻ•āϰāϞ⧇āύ āφāĻŽāĻžāĻĻ⧇āϰ āĻ•āĻžāϛ⧇ āϏāĻ āĻŋāĻ• āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āϟāĻŋāĻ•āĻŋāϟ āφāϛ⧇ āĻ•āĻŋāύāĻžāĨ¤
01

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

an amount equal to one of two equal parts
half definition and meaning
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
She drank half the bottle of water.
āϏ⧇ āϜāϞ⧇āϰ āĻŦā§‹āϤāϞ⧇āϰ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻĒāĻžāύ āĻ•āϰ⧇āĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤
1.1

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

an amount considered roughly or approximately as 50% of the whole
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
Half the students failed the exam.
āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻļāĻŋāĻ•ā§āώāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĨā§€ āĻĒāϰ⧀āĻ•ā§āώāĻžāϝāĻŧ āĻĢ⧇āϞ āĻ•āϰ⧇āϛ⧇āĨ¤
01

āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻŋ āϏāĻŽāĻžāύ āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ⧇ āĻ­āĻžāĻ— āĻ•āϰāĻž, āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻ­āĻžāĻ— āĻ•āϰāĻž

to divide into two equal parts
to half definition and meaning
Old use
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
The servant halved the loaf and gave one part to the traveler.
āϚāĻžāĻ•āϰāϟāĻŋ āϰ⧁āϟāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻ•āϰ⧇ āĻāĻ• āĻ­āĻžāĻ— āĻ­ā§āϰāĻŽāĻŖāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧀āϕ⧇ āĻĻāĻŋāϞāĨ¤
02

āϏāĻŽāϤ⧁āĻ˛ā§āϝ āĻ•āϰāĻž, āĻ­āĻžāĻ— āĻ•āϰāĻž

(golf) to tie a hole by scoring the same number of strokes as one's opponent
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
He managed to half despite landing in the bunker.
āĻŦāĻžāĻ‚āĻ•āĻžāϰ⧇ āĻ…āĻŦāϤāϰāĻŖ āϏāĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻŦ⧇āĻ“ āϏ⧇ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻ•āϰāϤ⧇ āϏāĻ•ā§āώāĻŽ āĻšāϝāĻŧ⧇āĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤
01

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻāĻ• āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•

one of two equal parts of something
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
We divided the cake, and I took half.
āφāĻŽāϰāĻž āϕ⧇āĻ•āϟāĻŋ āĻ­āĻžāĻ— āĻ•āϰ⧇āĻ›āĻŋ, āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āφāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āύāĻŋāϝāĻŧ⧇āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤
1.1

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻāĻ• āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•

a portion estimated or understood to be roughly 50% of the whole
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
We tried calling everyone, but half did n't answer.
āφāĻŽāϰāĻž āϏāĻŦāĻžāχāϕ⧇ āĻĢā§‹āύ āĻ•āϰāĻžāϰ āĻšā§‡āĻˇā§āϟāĻž āĻ•āϰ⧇āĻ›āĻŋ, āĻ•āĻŋāĻ¨ā§āϤ⧁ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āωāĻ¤ā§āϤāϰ āĻĻ⧇āϝāĻŧāύāĻŋāĨ¤
01

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

being one of two equal parts of a whole
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
The recipe calls for a half cup of sugar.
āϰ⧇āϏāĻŋāĻĒāĻŋāϤ⧇ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻ•āĻžāĻĒ āϚāĻŋāύāĻŋāϰ āĻĒā§āϰāϝāĻŧā§‹āϜāύāĨ¤
1.1

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻ…āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖ

falling short of being complete or entire
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
She wore a half grin after hearing the news.
āĻ–āĻŦāϰ āĻļ⧁āύ⧇ āϤāĻžāϰ āĻŽā§āϖ⧇ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻšāĻžāϏāĻŋ āĻĢ⧁āĻŸā§‡ āωāϠ⧇āĻ›āĻŋāϞāĨ¤
02

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āφāϧāĻž

covering or extending over only one of two equal parts
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
The house has a half wall between the kitchen and dining room.
āĻŦāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāϤ⧇ āϰāĻžāĻ¨ā§āύāĻžāϘāϰ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻĄāĻžāχāύāĻŋāĻ‚ āϰ⧁āĻŽā§‡āϰ āĻŽāĻ§ā§āϝ⧇ āĻāĻ•āϟāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ• āĻĻ⧇āϝāĻŧāĻžāϞ āφāϛ⧇āĨ¤
03

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ, āĻ¸ā§Ž āĻ­āĻžāχ āĻŦāĻž āĻ¸ā§Ž āĻŦā§‹āύ

(of a sibling) sharing only one biological parent
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
She finally met her half brother after years of separation.
āĻŦāĻ›āϰ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻŋāĻšā§āϛ⧇āĻĻ⧇āϰ āĻĒāϰ⧇ āϏ⧇ āĻ…āĻŦāĻļ⧇āώ⧇ āϤāĻžāϰ āĻ¸ā§Ž āĻ­āĻžāχāϝāĻŧ⧇āϰ āϏāĻžāĻĨ⧇ āĻĻ⧇āĻ–āĻž āĻ•āϰāϞāĨ¤
3.1

āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ⧇āĻ•, āĻ¸ā§Ž

(of a relative) related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two
āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ
I met my half cousin at the reunion for the first time.
āφāĻŽāĻŋ āĻĒā§āϰāĻĨāĻŽāĻŦāĻžāϰ⧇āϰ āĻŽāϤ⧋ āĻĒ⧁āύāĻ°ā§āĻŽāĻŋāϞāύ⧀āϤ⧇ āφāĻŽāĻžāϰ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āϧ āϚāĻžāϚāĻžāϤ⧋ āĻ­āĻžāχāϝāĻŧ⧇āϰ āϏāĻžāĻĨ⧇ āĻĻ⧇āĻ–āĻž āĻ•āϰ⧇āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤
LanGeek
āĻ…ā§āϝāĻžāĻĒ āĻĄāĻžāωāύāϞ⧋āĻĄ āĻ•āϰ⧁āύ