halo

noun

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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-

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Synonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing halo 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 The Gaia mission—a satellite launched in 2013 to map and characterize more than one billion of the stars in the Milky Way—has already revealed that our galaxy’s halo is full of debris from some massive dwarf galaxies. — Jamie Carter, Forbes, 3 May 2022 Disposable products might also seem like unlikely candidates for a halo of sustainability. — Ann-marie Alcántara, WSJ, 13 Apr. 2022 In less skilled hands this could result in chaos or camp, but even her Mother Teresa, played by a man in drag with a ring light for a halo, avoided that trap. — New York Times, 30 Mar. 2022 The weathered emulsion from the medium’s unique development process creates a distinctive vignette halo around Davis’ subjects. — Evangeline Barrosse, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2022 Lincoln’s easiness with black visitors was not because he had been born wearing a racial halo. — Allen C. Guelzo, National Review, 17 Mar. 2022 Central to the stunning sky scene is the common 22-degree halo, which can be mistaken for a rainbow. — Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2021 Marian Anderson’s wide-ranging contralto possessed the kind of resonant halo that technology is helpless to reproduce. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2021 The effect is a fiber halo, the tears and separations leaving a roughness that makes the images appear to fuzz, as if in a dream. — New York Times, 28 Sep. 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, 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, 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, 20 Sep. 2019 The landlady remains a cipher, and yet a faint aspect of loss haloes her. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2019 Turner’s head is haloed by the sun, much like the moon during a solar eclipse. — Marissa Fessenden, Smithsonian, 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, 16 May 2015 See More

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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Dictionary Entries Near halo

Halmstad

halo

halo-

Statistics for halo

Last Updated

18 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Halo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halo. Accessed 25 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for halo

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