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

Less than a half hour later, all of these dancers disappeared without much explanation. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026

McKinney neighbors were split on the issue, with more than 100 people giving public comment, lasting more than five-and-a-half hours. — Trevor Sochocki, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Even a two-and-a-half hour runtime isn’t enough to get viewers invested in eight brand new characters. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026

One of my favorite parts of the experience was being able to make the boat our own for two-and-a-half hours. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 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