How to Use half-mast in a Sentence

half-mast

noun
  • And thoughts and prayers are just flags flying at half-mast.
    Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2023
  • What's the difference between half-mast and half-staff?
    Rae Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 11 Apr. 2023
  • Flags around the city are flying at half-mast to mark three days of national mourning announced by the monarchy.
    Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 10 Sep. 2023
  • In San Diego flags were lowered to half-mast as residents expressed their sadness and grief.
    Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2023
  • Within moments, her long neck drooped and her eyelids fluttered at half-mast.
    Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
  • But the picture of a British flag at half-mast shared in the Instagram post is unrelated to the situation with the princess.
    Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
  • Put your Margaritaville crocs on at half-mast, and unwind.
    Vulture, 4 Sep. 2023
  • Flags across the country will fly at half-mast on Sunday on a national day of reflection.
    Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Dec. 2025
  • The American flag was at half-mast.
    Karan Mahajan, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Here's what to know about the difference between half-mast and half-staff and why flags are flown at half-staff.
    Shelby Slade, AZCentral.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • For ships and naval stations ashore, the flags are flown at half-mast.
    John Tufts, IndyStar, 5 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'half-mast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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