halve

verb

ˈhav 

ˈhäv

halved; halving

transitive verb

1

a

: to divide into two equal parts

b

: to reduce to one half

halving the present cost

c

: to share equally

2

golf : to play (a hole, round, or match) in the same number of strokes as one's opponent

I lost the next two holes to pars, then halved the fourth by missing an easy putt.

—David Owen

Examples of halve in a Sentence

The store is halving the price of many summer items.

Recent Examples on the Web

The game is set five years in the future, and imagines a Britain where predictive policing has halved crime rates. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025

Although vacancies among dispatcher staff have remained mostly steady, Mitchell said Thursday that six new hires are set to start on the job, which would nearly halve the number of unfilled jobs. —Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 8 Aug. 2025

But their forecast has nearly halved since then, settling at an adjusted outlook of $16 per share. —Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025

The deal represents a significant reduction from Trump’s threat to impose charges of 30% from Aug. 1 and almost halves the existing tariff rate on Europe’s auto sector from 27.5%. —Sam Meredith, CNBC, 29 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from half half

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for halve

• calve
• have
• nav
• mohave

Kids Definition

halve

verb

ˈhav 

ˈhȧv

halved; halving

1

: to divide into two halves

2

: to reduce to one half

halving the cost