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

Over the next half hour, the carpenter and businessman filled his hat with gold worth about $15 (the equivalent amount would now be worth about $2,500). —Andre Byik, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025

Small talk can spare you an extra half hour or so, but having the cornbread ready to be turned into dressing well ahead of time makes the day so much easier. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 9 Nov. 2025

In any case, the film feels as excitingly changeable as its art style, something which pushes into more emotionally fraught territory during its last half hour. —Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025

There could also be travel issues, so allotting ourselves an extra half hour to get to a destination helps lessen anxiety and stress. —Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 6 Nov. 2025

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