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

The consent decree requires close monitoring of staff abuse and retaliation, medical care, the application of early release credits and the timely release of inmates to halfway houses. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025

While Dixon pleaded guilty to the nonviolent offense in 2000, she was ordered to pay restitution and spend 30 days in a halfway house, court documents show. —Kimmy Yam, NBC news, 30 May 2025

The first three months of the probation were to be spent at the halfway house. —Ronald Blum, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025

Baraka, who’s running to become the Garden State’s next governor in November, has been critical of the two-story Delaney Hall that previously operated as a halfway house located near a prison. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 9 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for halfway house

• boardinghouse
• charterhouse
• clearinghouse
• coffeehouse
• customhouse
• firehouse
• meetinghouse
• motherhouse
• packinghouse
• pilothouse
• powerhouse
• slaughterhouse

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