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

The toddler had been rushed to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland early Wednesday following a blaze at a residence in the 200 block of 15th Street that began burning about a half hour after an earlier fire at a residence two doors away. — Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

Panettiere was pronounced dead about a half hour after the call. — Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026

About a half hour later, authorities rescued a woman described as being in her 40s after receiving another report that a female could be heard yelling for help, according to Crabtree. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026

There are some who bring something the size of the Taj Mahal to the beach, and spend a half hour of precious beach time setting it up. — John Natale, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 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