half

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.
   • You don’t know the half of it.
   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
   • I accepted a half of bitter from him.1974, James Herriot, All Things Bright and Beautiful, St. Martin's Press,, →ISBN
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

5. Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.
6. (slang) A half sibling.
   • So for Richard and Barbara, Jeff and Kari, the impossibly varied collection of steps and halves that is another legacy of my father.2016, Robert M. Herzog, A World Between
7. (UK, dated) A child ticket. Two and a half to Paddington.
8. abbreviated form for half marathon.

Adjective

half (not comparable)

1. Consisting of a half (½, 50%).
   • a half kilo
   • a half hour

   Synonyms:

   semi-, hemi-, demi-

2. Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect.
   • a half truth
   • Assumed from thence a half-consent.1847, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page number, or |part=Prologue, I to VII, or conclusion)”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC
3. Having one parent (rather than two) in common.
   • a half brother or half sister
4. Related through one common grandparent or ancestor rather than two.
   • a half uncle or half aunt or half cousin

Adverb

half (not comparable)

1. In two equal parts or to an equal degree.
2. In some part approximating a half.
3. Partially; imperfectly.
   • half-colored
   • The task is only half done.

   Synonyms:

   halfly

4. Practically, nearly.
   • To be a King, is halfe to bee a God.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...

Verb

half (third-person singular simple present halves, present participle halving, simple past and past participle halved)

1. (transitive, obsolete except nonstandard) To halve.

   Synonyms:

   bipartition, bisect, dichotomize, dimidiate, halve

Preposition

half

1. (Ireland, UK) Half past; a half-hour (30 minutes) after the last hour.
   • The time is 9:30; it is half nine.

   Synonyms:

   half past

2. (rare) A half-hour to (preceding) the next hour.
   • In some countries, "half seven" means 6:30.

Interjection

1. A call reminding performers that the performance will begin in thirty minutes.