halo

noun

ha·lo | \ ˈhā-(ˌ)lō

plural halos or haloes

Definition of halo

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a circle of light appearing to surround the sun or moon and resulting from refraction or reflection of light by ice particles in the atmosphere

2 : something resembling a halo: such as

a : nimbus

b : a region of space surrounding a galaxy that is sparsely populated with luminous objects (such as globular clusters) but is believed to contain a great deal of dark matter

c : a differentiated zone surrounding a central zone or object

d or halo brace : an orthopedic device used to immobilize the head and neck (as to treat fracture of neck vertebrae) that consists of a metal band placed around the head and fastened to the skull usually with metal pins and that is attached by extensions to an inflexible vest

3 : the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing

halo

verb

haloed; haloing; haloes

Definition of halo (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to form into or surround with a halo rainbows haloed the waterfalls— Michael Crawford

halo-

combining form

Definition of halo- (Entry 3 of 3)

— see hal-

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about halo

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Examples of halo in a Sentence

Noun the halo of unimpeachable honesty in which the politician had long basked a naturalistic depiction of Saint Peter that shows him as a humble fisherman and without the traditional halo

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Our Milky Way galaxy, which appears as a bright flat disk, lives in a humongous sphere of the stuff—a halo, which gets especially dense toward the center. — Max G. Levy, Wired, "Where’s the Dark Matter? Look for Suspiciously Warm Planets," 3 May 2021 The empty-looking halo lies outside of these swirling arms. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "New Milky Way map reveals a wave of stars in our galaxy's outer reaches," 25 Apr. 2021 The photo also shows something that scientists weren’t necessarily expecting to see: A bright halo around Venus, extending to its dark side. — Mike Wehner, BGR, "Holy moly, this new Venus photo is just ridiculous," 26 Feb. 2021 The van's side profile is meant to mimic the halo that's seen on the earth from space during sunrise. — Connor Hoffman, Car and Driver, "Hyundai Staria Has Major Space Van Vibes," 18 Mar. 2021 That leaves some question as to whether AT&T can ever get blessed with the same streaming halo investors have affixed to entertainment peers such as Disney and ViacomCBS. — Dan Gallagher, WSJ, "Ma Bell Juggles its Bills," 12 Mar. 2021 Other images from that era feature supermodels in highly unfashion-y poses — such as Kate Moss, in bed, surrounded by a halo of pink hair, looking as if she has been interrupted from going to sleep. — Los Angeles Times, "Essential Arts: Juergen Teller and the unglamorous history of anti-fashion photography," 6 Mar. 2021 Another 16 sapphires and a halo of 44 diamonds surround the logo and the baseball diamond. — Los Angeles Times, "Take a look: Dodgers’ World Series rings feature 232 diamonds, 53 sapphires," 9 Apr. 2021 The halo office at Apple’s giant Cupertino campus is powered by renewable energy, and its grounds are planted with 9,000 native trees (keep in mind that Apple Park has more parking space than office space). — Audrey Wachs, Curbed, "At Amazon, Pretending to Be Green Takes a Lot of Energy," 22 Feb. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The larger ones are steeply mountainous, volcanic, rising to almost 6,000 feet, their summits haloed in clouds. — Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Remote Solomon Islands Are a Diver's Paradise in the South Pacific," 22 May 2020 There is a none-too-subtle mystical vibe, from the ring lights that halo the massive trees on Amaya’s Bay Area campus to Forest’s cult-leader magnetism and the cold-burn fervor of his head acolyte, Katie (a quietly terrifying Alison Pill). — James Poniewozik, New York Times, "Review: ‘Devs’ Is a Cold and Beautiful Machine," 4 Mar. 2020 Nine, the new album from Blink-182, a band forever associated with adolescence even though the members’ mean age is now 44, arrives haloed in that great teenage emotion: embarrassment. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Blink-182’s Secret Seriousness," 20 Sep. 2019 The landlady remains a cipher, and yet a faint aspect of loss haloes her. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, "Taxidermy Is a Metaphor for Our Time," 21 Aug. 2019 Turner’s head is haloed by the sun, much like the moon during a solar eclipse. — Marissa Fessenden, Smithsonian, "Artist’s Quilts Pay Tribute to African-American Women," 4 May 2018 At the time, Mikey was recovering from being neutered and was haloed by a large plastic dog cone around his neck. — Marc Lester, adn.com, "How a service dog opened an Alaska veteran's world," 16 May 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'halo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

6 May 2021

Cite this Entry

“Halo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halo. Accessed 12 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for halo

halo

noun

English Language Learners Definition of halo

: a circle of light that is shown in a religious painting, drawing, etc., around the head of a holy figure (such as an angel, saint, or god)

: a bright circle seen around the sun or the moon

See the full definition for halo in the English Language Learners Dictionary

halo

noun

ha·lo | \ ˈhā-lō

plural halos or haloes

Kids Definition of halo

1 : a bright circle around the head of a person (as in a painting) that signifies holiness

2 : a circle of light around the sun or moon caused by tiny ice crystals in the air

halo

noun

ha·lo | \ ˈhā-(ˌ)lō

plural halos or haloes

Medical Definition of halo

1 : a circle of light appearing to surround a luminous body especially : one seen as the result of the presence of glaucoma

2 : a differentiated zone surrounding a central object the halo around a boil

3 : the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing

4 : an orthopedic device used to immobilize the head and neck (as to treat fracture of neck vertebrae) that consists of a metal band placed around the head and fastened to the skull usually with metal pins and that is attached by extensions to an inflexible vest

— called also halo brace