half dollar
- noun
- /hæf ˈdɒlər/
- US
- For just 50 cents, a half-dollar, 5 dimes, 10 nickels!
- half dollar coin
- Kennedy half dollar
- size of a half dollar
I had this huge bag of Dimes, quarters and half dollars.
- I had this huge bag of Dimes, quarters and half dollars.
- It's because they debase the silver that like the quarter, the Dimes and the half dollars.
Examples
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The collector proudly displayed his rare half dollar from the 1960s.
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Any chance you would know what happened to this half dollar?
Blog text (9) -
But, anyway, what about the half dollar?
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I'm never gonna use the half-dollar pieces.
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It looks like a Kennedy half dollar, but if you lift it up this way, it's fake.
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Vincenzo flips a half dollar in his hand constantly.
Fiction book (1999) -
2014 will mark the 50th anniversary of the beloved Kennedy half dollar, and many collectors seem interested in a special version of that coin.
Blog text (3) -
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a half dollar to pay for the coffee.
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During the game, I flipped a half dollar to decide who would go first.
Synonyms
A coin from the United States worth fifty cents, equal to half a dollar
A United States coin worth half a dollar
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a coin worth half a dollar (50 cents)' is directly and compositionally derived from 'half' (one of two equal parts) + 'dollar' (unit of currency). This numeric/partitive relation is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Half dollar comes from the simple idea that the coin is a half of a dollar in value. So the name tells you it is a coin worth 'fifty cents'.