How to Use half-life in a Sentence
half-life
noun-
But the short half-life of 26Al means this growth had to be quick.
—Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2016
-
But technetium-99m has a very short half-life, just six hours or so.
—Chris Baraniuk, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2024
-
Delta 8 has a half-life that ranges from 4 to 12 hours based on these factors.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 4 Aug. 2023
-
Caffeine has a half-life of roughly five to six hours but can stay in your body longer.
—Elizabeth Barnes, Verywell Health, 19 Mar. 2025
-
Caffeine has a half-life of roughly five to six hours but can stay in your body longer.
—Elizabeth Barnes, Verywell Health, 19 Mar. 2025
-
So, Lynch asks, what if dark matter has a half-life of roughly a billion years?
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
-
Most of the chemicals that were released in the derailment have a short half-life, Booth said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2023
-
Drugs can have different half-lives, with some ranging from a few hours to days.
—Phuoc Anh (anne) Nguyen, Pharmd, Ms, Verywell Health, 17 July 2024
-
His efforts to blame everyone else for his own failures are sure to have a very short half-life.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
-
In a Life Kit episode, sleep researcher Matthew Walker said that caffeine has a half-life of about six hours in most people.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 19 May 2025
-
Voters’ minds are fleeting and blame has a quick half-life in Washington.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
-
Voters’ minds are fleeting and blame has a quick half-life in Washington.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
-
Here’s what to know about caffeine’s half-life, plus the amount of caffeine found in your favorite coffee orders.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 2 June 2025
-
Tritium has a radioactive half-life of a little over 12 years, according to the IAEA.
—Bloomberg News, oregonlive, 3 July 2023
-
The remaining alcohol can take up to five half-lives (i.e. 20–25 hours) to be cleared completely.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 23 Jan. 2025
-
Duration of effects: Adrafinil has a longer half-life than Hydrafinil, which means its effects may last longer.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023
-
Classic-film cable and streaming services have tended to have short half-lives.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
-
Uranium has been a hot commodity, and its rally could have a long half-life.
—Jinjoo Lee, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024
-
All uranium is radioactive, and each isotope has its own unique half-life.
—Kathryn Higley, The Conversation, 16 June 2023
-
But even materials with long half-lives can be hazardous over longer periods of time.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 21 June 2025
-
For instance, experiments have shown the proton to be so stable that its half-life must be at least a hundred trillion trillion times the age of the universe.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
-
Image Celebrity status has a half-life, especially when much of your fan base consists of teenage boys.
—Bruce Schoenfeld, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
-
The mobile space race and its half-life have significantly reduced.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
-
By contrast, tritium, the heavy form of hydrogen needed for most other laser fusion concepts, has a half-life of only 12 years.
—Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
-
But the story doesn’t end there, for the compassion for asylum seekers generated by Kurdi’s image proved to have a short half-life.
—Vox Staff, Vox, 3 June 2024
-
Caffeine has a half-life of two to 12 hours, which is affected by factors such as age, genetics, liver health, and pregnancy.
—Julie Scott, Verywell Health, 2 July 2025
-
Key Takeaways Nicotine has a half-life of about two hours and can stay in the blood for about one to three days.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 30 Nov. 2025
-
Its half-life is a staggering 432 years, five times longer than plutonium-238.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 Nov. 2025
-
Iodine radioisotopes have half-lives that span from a tenth of a second to 16 million years.
—Andrea Richard, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2025
-
Klonopin, on the other hand, has a half-life of between twenty and eighty hours.
—P.e. Moskowitz september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'half-life.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated:
