halve

verb

ˈhav 

ˈhäv

halved; halving

transitive verb

1

a

: to divide into two equal parts

b

: to reduce to one half

halving the present cost

c

: to share equally

2

golf : to play (a hole, round, or match) in the same number of strokes as one's opponent

I lost the next two holes to pars, then halved the fourth by missing an easy putt.

—David Owen

Examples of halve in a Sentence

The store is halving the price of many summer items.

Recent Examples on the Web

Synflux ran a pilot with The North Face, halving the amount of waste produced by one of the outerwear brand’s bestselling jackets. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 12 May 2026

While many final squads have not yet been confirmed, decisions are starting to be made on provisional squads that will often need to be halved in number to meet the World Cup requirements. —Sam Joseph, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Isaacman made the comments while endorsing a proposal to halve NASA's science budget, riling some astronomers. —CBS News, 4 May 2026

In 2025, the company recorded its first annual profit drop in four years down by 19%, and its net profit more than halved year on year in the first quarter of 2026. —Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 1 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from half half

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for halve

• calve
• have
• nav
• mohave

Kids Definition

halve

verb

ˈhav 

ˈhȧv

halved; halving

1

: to divide into two halves

2

: to reduce to one half

halving the cost