How to Use half in a Sentence

half

1 of 3 noun
  • Two halves make a whole.
  • The team fell behind in the first half but rallied in the second half to win the game.
  • She broke each cookie into halves.
  • Twelve turnovers in the first half.
    — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 26 Apr. 2026
  • His gas bill eats half of that.
    — Anton L. Delgado, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026
  • Yet this was the tale of two halves.
    — Justin Barrasso, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Leeds were not good in the first half.
    — Beren Cross, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Add peach halves to pan, cut sides up.
    — Emily Teel, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 June 2026
  • The top 1% alone owns more than half.
    — Kam Shenai, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2026
  • Leonard had 15 first-half points.
    — CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • And for a half, the matchup lived up to the hype.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 1 Feb. 2026
  • And over half of all these groups are less than a decade old.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026
  • Replace the top half of the rolls.
    — Mary Claire Britton, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • So far in the first half, the two teams have gone back and forth.
    — Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Achane plenty in the first half.
    — Miami Herald, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The most egregious mishap came in the first half.
    — Chad Graff, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The tone changed as the second half wore on.
    — Miami Herald, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The idea happened about two and a half weeks ago.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026
  • It's made for a slog of a second half so far.
    — Nbc News, NBC news, 28 June 2026
  • Mesidor had a team-best three-and-a-half.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The last two-and-a-half weeks, the good old days have been now.
    — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
  • The pair didn’t share the floor much in the second half.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Slice it in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon for an easy snack.
    — Randi Gollin, Martha Stewart, 14 June 2026
  • Curhan had to play left and right guard during the first half.
    — Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
  • The Colts rushed for 74 yards in the first half.
    — Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 19 Oct. 2025
  • And about half of the staff here are Latino.
    — Meg Anderson, NPR, 22 Mar. 2026
  • Oh, and that band, half of them are Berklee alums with mighty chops.
    — Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Up 24 points in the second half.
    — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
  • If only the Spurs had half of this fan's fight.
    — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 June 2026
  • DeRozan didn't play at all in the second half.
    — CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026

half

2 of 3 adjective
  • She looked at him with a shy half smile.
  • He owns a half share in the company.
  • That still leaves a half-dozen dates.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Fold a paper in half length wise.
    — Esther K. Choy, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Cut in half crosswise and place on plate.
    — Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Place each half flat side down on a cutting board.
    — Karla Walsh, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
  • Find more half-zip styles below.
    — Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Kesselman came equipped with a half-pound joint.
    — Steve Bloom, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The flames came within a half-mile of her home.
    — John Aguilar, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The other sold for a half-mil-plus as well.
    — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • These half-dozen do not require you to have a truck.
    — Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2026
  • Our children spend half time with her and half time with me.
    — Wendy Hickey, Boston Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Over a half-hour, Sarah backs up 15 feet.
    — Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
  • That’s eight quarter-point rate cuts, or four half-point cuts.
    — Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
  • There’s like a half-hour of stock footage in the movie instead.
    — J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The victim died at the scene, about a half-mile from her home.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026
  • There are about a half-dozen part-timers at the business, too.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
  • When the trench is half-full, backfill with soil, and you're done.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 24 May 2026
  • Was that your first half-Iron-distance race?
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2026
  • His heave from beyond half court was on target.
    — ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
  • The final is in a little more than a half-hour.
    — Isabel Yip, NBC news, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Waves as high as two and a half feet were reported.
    — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Now available in the pint and half gallon sizes.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Plan for a half-day outing on the water.
    — Mindy Sink, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026
  • His land speed is a consistent half sprint.
    — Paige Williams, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
  • Right now, Prime members can shop the pants for half-off.
    — Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
  • But these half-measures give far too much ground to Democrats.
    — Sally C. Pipes, Oc Register, 18 Oct. 2025
  • At least a half-dozen ambulances were sent to the scene.
    — Harry Harris, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026
  • And, people are even running half marathons in them.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Not to mention, to get to the beach from our house is more than a half-hour drive.
    — Irv Erdos, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Oct. 2025

half

3 of 3 adverb
  • The door was half open.
  • The glass of water is half full.
  • The train departed at half past the hour.
  • The crowd was half cheering and half jeering.
  • These eggs are only half cooked.
  • She had half persuaded me to stay.
  • He was only half aware of what was happening.
  • That, at least, was half right.
    — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
  • For food, starters are half off.
    — Kansas City Star, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Don’t half go and half want to go back.
    — Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Lind is half right, and correct to be wary.
    — Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
  • Our teapot was never less than half-full.
    — Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
  • Her voice was half–carried off by the dry wind.
    — Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
  • One was half-jammed with an AC unit.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Looking grim, folks, and the year’s not half over.
    — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
  • The film clocks in at nearly three hours but feels half as long.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Strain into a tall glass half filled with ice and top with beer.
    — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025
  • By the end of the drive, the up-tempo tune was half-done.
    — Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
  • Then, pull it up, and fold half over, and secure with a clip.
    — Cameron Jenkins, Good Housekeeping, 15 July 2023
  • Fill cup half-full with crushed ice, stir to combine, and chill.
    — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Some of Baker’s ideas were half-baked.
    — David Moin, Footwear News, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Megan, who is half Chinese and half white, feels the same.
    — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 25 June 2026
  • To her, the glass was always half empty.
    — Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
  • But that it was half guaranteed was telling.
    — Tony East, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • More than half described the habit as freeing.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 22 Dec. 2025
  • More than half lived on the West and South sides of the city.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 July 2026
  • Just about everybody in here tends to see the glass as half-full.
    — Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 18 Nov. 2022
  • Whether that cup is half full or half empty is the issue at hand.
    — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 29 June 2026
  • To be sure, many devotees tout the trend with a half-joking air.
    — Jake Angelo, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'half.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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