English Dictionary
Definition half in British English
half
adjective, adverb, noun, number, predeterminer, pronoun
What are red words?
Around 90% of spoken and written English relies on just 7,500 common words.
These words are highlighted in red and are ranked using a star system.
- One-star words are commonly used
- Two-star words are even more common
- Three-star words are the most frequently used
adjective, adverb, noun, number, predeterminer, pronoun
What are red words?
Around 90% of spoken and written English relies on just 7,500 common words.These words are highlighted in red and are ranked using a star system.
- One-star words are commonly used
- Two-star words are even more common
- Three-star words are the most frequently used
Half can be used in the following ways:
as a predeterminer (followed by a word such as ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘this’, or ‘his’): We live half a mile up the road.I have to spend half my time looking after the children.
as a pronoun: Let’s share the prize money. You can have half. (followed by ‘of’): 48 is half of 96.Half of us are still unemployed. (following ‘in’ or ‘by’): Cut the apple in half.The crime rate has been reduced by half.
as an adjective (followed by a noun): We ordered a half bottle of red wine.They sold 250 tickets in the first half hour.
as an adverb (followed by an adjective, adverb, or preposition): I was only half awake.She spoke half in Italian and half in English. (followed by a verb or participle): I only half understood what she was saying.a half finished building (followed by ‘as’): A nurse only earns half as much as a doctor.
as a countable noun: The group was divided into two halves.Our team scored two goals in the second half.
as a number: Emma was talking well by the age of two and a half.
Don’t use a or the before half or half of:
✗ Nearly a half of the programmes included advertising.
✓ Nearly half of the programmes included advertising.
✗ Girls constitute the half of the population of universities.
✓ Girls constitute half of the population of universities.
You can use the definite article (the) before half with an adjective such as first, second, or next when you are referring to something that has been mentioned before:
The second half of the film is not as good as the first.
The movement gathered impetus during the next half century.
When half forms part of a number, the most common structure is one and a half, two and a half, three and a half etc.
✗ Tourists can visit any of these sites within one and half hours.
✓ Tourists can visit any of these sites within one and a half hours.
✗ They made us wait for two hours and a half for our visa.
✓ They made us wait two and a half hours for our visa.
Always use a plural noun in this structure:
✗ A 90-minute film might last two and a half hour with commercials.
✓ A 90-minute film might last two and a half hours with commercials.
used for referring to one of two equal parts into which an amount, group, or object can be divided
used for referring to one of two equal parts into which an amount, group, or object can be divided
When we interviewed employees, nearly half of them complained of stress.
used in numbers, measurements, and ages to mean ½
used for saying that someone or something is made up of 50% of one thing and 50% of something else
Marie is half Vietnamese, half French (=one of her parents is from Vietnam, the other is from France).
There used to be a lot more men than women in the medical school, but now it's about half and half.
used for saying that something happens partly but not completely, or that something is partly in a particular state
I only half understood the instructions.
used for emphasizing how bad or extreme a situation is
one of the two equal periods of time into which a game of football, basketball, hockey etc is divided
half a pint of a drink, especially beer
Related Words
Words related to half: