halfway house

noun

1

a

: a place to stop midway on a journey

b

: a halfway place in a progression

2

: a residence for individuals after release from institutionalization (as for mental illness, drug addiction, or criminal activity) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life

Examples of halfway house in a Sentence

The car is the perfect halfway house between a family caravan and luxury sedan.

Recent Examples on the Web

Whether interventions take the form of shelter beds, halfway houses, rehab facilities, or monitored, legal campsites, is the business of those local municipalities. —Chelsea Cantilli, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2025

The new policy, effective April 21, caps halfway house placement at just 60 days for most inmates and 125 days for those completing the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). —Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

That may also ripple down to prisoners who rely on staff to get them to the halfway house. —Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025

Eichorn, 40, appeared in federal court on Wednesday and U.S. Magistrate Judge Shannon Elkins ordered him released when a halfway house bed is available, according to court records. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for halfway house

• boardinghouse
• charterhouse
• clearinghouse
• coffeehouse
• customhouse
• firehouse
• meetinghouse
• motherhouse
• packinghouse
• pilothouse
• powerhouse
• slaughterhouse

Kids Definition

halfway house

noun

: a place that provides living quarters and usually counseling to persons who have left an institution (as a prison or mental hospital) but are not ready to live in the community

Medical Definition

halfway house

noun

half·​way house ˈhaf-ˈwā-, ˈhȧf- 

: a center for individuals after institutionalization (as for mental illness or drug addiction) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life

Legal Definition

halfway house

noun

half·​way house

: a residence for formerly institutionalized individuals (as mental patients, drug addicts, or convicts) that is designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life