half
- noun
- /hæf/
- Half of the excerpts were played by the full ensemble and half by a single section.
- one half
- more than half
- about half
But half of that half has mobile phones.
- But half of that half has mobile phones.
- I've had friends who laid off half their staff, half.
- Inclusion and exclusion are two halves of a normal process.
- They are axing a goat in half on the balcony.
- And then the entire boat bent in half because we went like this.
- I got a year, a year and a half left of school.
- You want a soft boiled egg split in half on opposite sides.
- And that's when roughly half of Kiev showed up on the streets.
Examples
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For example, only approximately half of California farmworkers received medical care in the previous year.
Academic text (2011) -
So we give her half in the morning and half at dinner time.
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Yeah, you just cut the sales in half, at least right there.
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I can maybe get you half by Monday.
-
Give me a number, I'd say half a million in five years.
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I had to pay my dad half my wages for rent.
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As of 2008, more than half of the world's population was living in urban areas.
Academic text (2011) -
The school was in the lower half academically of all district middle schools.
Academic text (2011) -
Statistics suggest that just under half of all looked-after children have a mental health disorder.
Academic text (2011) -
I divided the cake into two equal pieces, giving her one half and keeping the other for myself.
Synonyms
One of two equal parts of something
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To focus on the good parts of a situation instead of the bad
- Informal
Everywhere in a hurried, messy way like people searching quickly
Two choices that are almost the same and make no real difference
Compounds
- Informal
A person someone is married to or lives with, said in a friendly, joking way
- Formal
A position partway down a flagpole where a flag flies to show respect after a death
- Specialized
The smallest jump between two notes in Western music, one piano key apart
- Jargon
A wrestling hold where one arm goes under the opponent's arm and presses the back of the neck
- Specialized
A dive in which a diver jumps forward and does a half backward flip to enter facing the board
- Archaic
A smaller amount of money given to a worker who is not working full time but is still employed
A short piece of underwear worn under a skirt to help it hang smoothly and stop it showing through
A mask that covers the upper part of the face, leaves the mouth visible, and has holes for the eyes
- Specialized
A building with visible wooden frames and walls filled with brick or plaster
- Specialized
A number that shows how similar scores are between two random halves of a test
A small axe that has one flat side for hammering and one sharp side for chopping wood
- Specialized
A way of covering a book with the spine in one material and the covers in another
- Specialized
A single slanted needle movement that makes part of a cross shape in embroidery
A salad dressing made from equal parts mayonnaise and vinaigrette with garlic and cheese
How Much
Surface Forms
Etymology
Half comes from an old German word healf meaning 'one of two'. Think of cutting a cake into two halves — each half is one equal part. So, as a noun, half is one of two equal parts.