- to the extent of half
- The glass was half full.
- The hall was half empty.
- She is half Italian.
- partly
- The chicken was only half cooked.
- half-closed eyes
- I was still half asleep.
- I half expected them to follow us.
- I'm half inclined to agree.
Grammar Point half / whole / quarterhalf / whole / quarter- Half, whole and quarter can all be nouns:
- Cut the apple into quarters.
- Two halves make a whole.
- Whole is also an adjective:
- I’ve been waiting here for a whole hour.
- Half is also a determiner:
- Half (of) the work is already finished.
- They spent half the time looking for a parking space.
- Her house is half a mile down the road.
- I waited for half an hour.
- I waited for a half an hour.
- Half can also be used as an adverb:
- This meal is only half cooked.
Extra Examples- The child looked half starved.
- You're half right.
Word OriginOld English half, healf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch half and German halb (adjectives). The earliest meaning of the Germanic base was ‘side’, also a noun sense in Old English.
Idioms
See half in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee half in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishthe glass is half-empty
- used to refer to the attitude of somebody who always looks at the bad things in a situation rather than the good ones
- For me the glass is half-empty.
- If you start to look at things with a glass half-empty mentality, your problems soon pile up.
the glass is half-full
- used to refer to the attitude of somebody who always looks at the good things in a situation rather than the bad ones
- My glass is always half-full.
- She always looks on the bright side—she's a glass half-full kind of person.
half as many, much, etc. again (British English)
(US English half again as much)
- an increase of 50 per cent of the existing number or amount
- Spending on health is half as much again as it was in 2019.
not half
- (British English, informal) used to emphasize a statement or an opinion
- It wasn't half good (= it was very good).
- ‘Was she annoyed?’ ‘Not half!’ (= she was extremely annoyed)
not half as | not half such a
- not nearly
- He is not half such a fool as they think.
- The result was not half as bad as expected.
not half bad
- (informal) (used to show surprise) not bad at all; good
- It really isn't half bad, is it?
- I saw him yesterday, and he wasn't looking half bad.
Check pronunciation:
half