half hour

noun

1
: thirty minutes
2
: the middle point of an hour
half-hourly 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 The Catalans played a dismal opening half hour against their Portuguese visitors, who Pepe PEPE +4.7% put ahead on 30 minutes. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 Fox News will pre-empt Greg Gutfeld’s 10 p.m. opinion program, to give Hannity more time for the debate as well as a half hour of reaction to it. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Nov. 2023 Dried hominy is widely available in the Latin section of supermarkets; if canned is your only option, however, drain and rinse it and add during the final half hour of cooking. Jonathan Miles, Field & Stream, 15 Nov. 2023 In a case of coincidence - or extremely good luck - the students had just set up for this exact scenario less than a half hour prior. Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2023 Haugen spent a half hour searching and didn’t find much. Jeff Horwitz, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2023 About a half hour later, a different camera recorded a Buick Enclave entering the parking lot, the officer testified. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2023 In this weather, the journey would usually take around a half hour. Nathan Thrall, Curbed, 25 Oct. 2023 Based on a standard 8-hour workday, 5-minute exercise snacks every half hour would total 1 hour and 20 minutes of walking per day. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 24 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'half hour.' 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

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of half hour was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near half hour

Cite this Entry

“Half hour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/half%20hour. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!