half hour

noun

1

: thirty minutes

2

: the middle point of an hour

half-hourly

ˈhaf-ˈau̇(-ə)r-lē 

ˈhäf-

adverb or adjective

Examples of half hour in a Sentence

Trains depart every half hour.

I waited a half hour in line.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trinidad and Tobago is just three-and-a-half hours from South Florida and operates in the same time zone, while the United States is the country’s largest trading partner and accounts for around one-third of its exports. — Panorama Media Ltd, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026

Klopp tried reinvigorating his attack with Nick Woltemade and Cologne star Said El Mala for Jonathan Burkardt and Lennart Karl for the last half hour, but Georgios Masouras had the best chance late for the hosts. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was scheduled to land in Dublin about two-and-a-half hours later. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

And kicking off a half hour earlier, 250 miles south, UConn will take on Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg heat for its first road game under coach Jason Candle. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for half hour

• bower
• cower
• dour
• flour
• flower
• fower
• glower
• our
• power
• scour
• shower
• sour

Kids Definition

half hour

noun

1

: thirty minutes

2

: the middle point of an hour

half-hourly

ˈhaf-ˈau̇(ə)r-lē, 

ˈhȧf-

adverb or adjective