'alf

Noun

half (plural halves)

1. One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
   • I ate the smaller half of the apple.
   1. One of two equal periods into which a game is divided.
      • An association football match usually consists of two halves of 45 minutes each.
   2. One of the two opposite parts of the playing field of various sports, in which each starts the game.
      • However, the hosts hit back and hit back hard, first replacement hooker Andrew Hore sliding over, then Williams careering out of his own half and leaving several defenders for dead before flipping the ball to Nonu to finish off a scintillating move.2011 September 16, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand 83-7 Japan”, in BBC Sport
2. (UK) half a pint of beer or cider. (Refusing a pint) Just a half, thank you. (Offering to top up a pint glass) Do you want a half in that? (Minimizing the amount of drink taken) A swift half at the Pear Tree.
   • He came back with a pint of Guinness for me and a half of bitter for Wendy.1968, John Braine, The Crying Game, Houghton Mifflin, page 11
3. (liquor trade) A barrel measure of 27 gallons (half a hogshead).
   • Barrels came in firkins, nine gallons; kilderkins, eighteen gallons; halves, twenty-seven gallons; barrels, thirty-six gallons and hogsheads, fifty-four.1987, Keith Dunstan, The Amber Nectar, Ringwood: Vicking O'Neil, page 81
4. (preceded by “a” or a number) The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2.
   • Three-quarters minus a quarter is a half.

   Synonyms:

   ½

See all 22 meanings of half