halfway house

noun

Synonyms of halfway housenext
1
a
: a place to stop midway on a journey
b
: a halfway place in a progression
2
: a residence for individuals after release from institutionalization (as for mental illness, drug addiction, or criminal activity) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life

Examples of halfway house in a Sentence

The car is the perfect halfway house between a family caravan and luxury sedan.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
He was released in April and is now living in a halfway house in Gainesville. — Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 June 2026 This reflects a shift towards greater use of halfway houses and home confinement. — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 She was released to a halfway house in Alabama in January. — Christie Thompson, NPR, 17 June 2026 He was released to a Chicago halfway house last summer and on at least one occasion since then has been observed in the company of Gerodemos, according to a court filing. — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for halfway house

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of halfway house was in 1648

Rhymes for halfway house

See All Rhymes for halfway house

Browse Nearby Words

halfway decent
halfway house
halfway through
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Halfway house.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halfway%20house. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

halfway house

noun
: a place that provides living quarters and usually counseling to persons who have left an institution (as a prison or mental hospital) but are not ready to live in the community

Medical Definition

halfway house

noun
half·​way house ˈhaf-ˈwā-, ˈhȧf- How to pronounce halfway house (audio)
: a center for individuals after institutionalization (as for mental illness or drug addiction) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life

Legal Definition

halfway house

noun
half·​way house
: a residence for formerly institutionalized individuals (as mental patients, drug addicts, or convicts) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life

More from Merriam-Webster on halfway house

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for halfway house

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All