What does half mean in English?

You can learn half Pronunciation, Grammar & Synonyms in this most authoritative English Dictionary.

half Meaning, Definition, Pronunciation, Grammar & Synonyms❤️

half Meaning & Definition

En [ hɑːf]
Us [ hæf]

Meaning of half In English

0 either of the two equal or nearly equal parts that together make up a whole:
- "What's half of 96?" "48."
- Roughly half (of) the class are Spanish and the others are a mixture of nationalities.
- Cut the apple in half/into halves (= into two equal parts).
- My little brother is half as tall as me/half my height.
- half a dozen (= six) eggs
- Half of me would just like to give it all up and travel around the world (= partly I would like to, but partly I would not).
- She was born in the latter half of the 18th century.
- The recipe tells you to use a pound and a half of butter.
- She invited a lot of people to the party but half of them didn't turn up.
- I don't even know where she is half (of) the time.
- I'll meet you at half past nine (= 09.30 or 21.30).
- UK informal I'll meet you at half seven (= half past seven).
- He answered the door half naked.
- I was half expecting to see her at the party.
- I'm half inclined to take the job just because it's in Argentina.
- He was being funny but I think he was half serious.
- The bottle's half empty.
- Shall we go halves on a bottle of champagne?
- I'll go halves with you on a bottle of champagne.
- You can use just sugar, just honey, or half and half.
1 either of two periods of time into which a game is divided
2 half a pint of a drink, especially beer:
- A pint of lager and two halves, please.
3 a ticket that is cheaper because it is for a child:
- Two (adults) and three halves to Manchester, please.
4 either of the two equal or nearly equal parts that together make up a whole:
- [ U ] Half of 12 is 6.
- [ U ] Half (of) the students are Spanish.
- [ U ] Cut the apple in half (= into two equal parts).
- [ C ] The recipe calls for a pound and a half of potatoes.
5 referring to either of the two equal or nearly equal parts that together make up a whole:
- Each talk should last about a half hour/half an hour (= 30 minutes).
- We need half a dozen (= six) eggs.
- She was still sleepy and only half aware of what was happening.
- I half expected (= almost expected) to see her at the party.

More Definitions of half

Examples of half

There were some tense moments in the second half of the game.
It tastes exactly the same as the real thing, but it has half the fat.
The exam lasted an hour and a half.
Two halves make a whole.
Over half his speech was devoted to the issue of unemployment.
Half-tone illustrations, requiring art paper plates, will be accepted in special circumstances.
The act of oviposition was very quick, often lasting less than half a second.
The top half of the students was allocated to the key class and the poorer half to the ordinary one.

More Examples of half

Trends of half

Grammar of half

0 Half as a noun
1 Half as an adjective
2 Half

A half is one of two equal parts of something:
3 Half in noun phrases

We can use half and half of before nouns with the definite article (the), possessives (my, your) and demonstratives (this, that):
4 Half as an adverb

We can use half as an adverb which means ‘not completely’, ‘partly’: