halfway house
noun
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
Robert Courtney, 71, a former Kansas City-area pharmacist who has been incarcerated for diluting prescriptions in a profit-boosting scheme, is being moved to a halfway house this summer, said Mike Ketchmark, an attorney for the victims.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 17 Apr. 2024
Her order mandated the prison system intricately involve a special master Gonzalez Rogers ultimately picked in the decision-making process for transferring inmates out of the facility to other prisons or to different locations, such as halfway houses.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
El Chapo's wife set to be released from halfway house following prison sentence
Detectives recovered video of both the attack and the suspect leaving the station.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2023
He was sentenced to 15 years but was released to a halfway house in January 1981, according to court records.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
After three years and 10 months in prison, Winkle was released this spring to a halfway house and then to monitored detention at his sister’s home in Blue Lake.
—Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024
In January 2022, a federal judge sentenced Crase and Williams to three years of probation and 15 days of intermittent confinement, which was to be served at a jail or halfway house over the course of five weekends.
—The Courier-Journal, 5 Jan. 2024
Several days after the murder, a detective stopped at a halfway house to question Anthony Francis Pepito, a Balistrieri employee who’d been convicted of armed burglary and other crimes.
—Journal Sentinel, 17 Jan. 2024
McFarland was subsequently transferred to a halfway house for community confinement and has since been on supervised release.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 21 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'halfway house.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near halfway house
Cite this Entry
“Halfway house.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halfway%20house. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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-
: 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share