How to Use half-mast in a Sentence

half-mast

1 of 2 noun
  • For ships and naval stations ashore, the flags are flown at half-mast.
    Jenny Porter Tilley, IndyStar, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The term half-staff is used for flags on land, while half-mast refers to flags on ships.
    Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Dec. 2025
  • Flags were already set to be at half-mast on Thursday.
    Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The American flag was at half-mast.
    Karan Mahajan, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Pritzker ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in his honor.
    Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Flags are flown at half-mast on nautical vessels, such as a naval ship.
    Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The flags at the school are being flown at half-mast following their deaths.
    Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 2 Mar. 2026
  • What is the difference between half-staff and half-mast?
    Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Sep. 2025
  • What is the difference between half-mast and half-staff?
    Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 25 May 2026
  • Within moments, her long neck drooped and her eyelids fluttered at half-mast.
    Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
  • 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
  • Carney ordered government buildings to fly flags at half-mast for the next week.
    Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 12 Feb. 2026
  • The term half-staff - also known as half-mast - refers to flying a flag partway down a flagpole or ship's mast.
    Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Here's what to know about the difference between half-mast and half-staff and more details on why flags are flown at half-staff.
    Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Flags at Harry Collinge High School are being flown at half-mast.
    Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 2 Mar. 2026
  • 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
  • Flags across the country will fly at half-mast on Sunday on a national day of reflection.
    Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Dec. 2025
  • Some states and local entities may choose to fly flags at half-staff and half-mast without a federal mandate.
    Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 18 Jan. 2026
  • 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
  • Flags have been lowered to half-mast at the Manitoba legislature.
    Rob Gillies, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2023
  • The Spanish flag was flown at half-mast in front of Parliament in Madrid for the victims on Monday.
    Dallas Morning News, 19 Jan. 2026
  • The governor has ordered that flags be flown at half-mast across Minnesota on Monday in honor of the victims.
    Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 18 Feb. 2024
  • The President publicly mourned Charlie Kirk’s death, ordering flags to fly at half-mast.
    Chantelle Lee, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
  • 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
  • But by now, there’s a design to the show that has the lights on the audience being at about half-mast for much of the concert, albeit often in different hues of yellow or red.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Later, Carney ordered the Canadian flags be flown at half-mast on all government buildings for seven days.
    Dennis Romero, NBC news, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko has declared a day of mourning, with flags on municipal buildings set to be flown at half-mast.
    Tiago Ventura, Time, 2 July 2026
  • Following the fire’s devastating toll, the city has been plunged in mourning, with flags on public buildings to be flown at half-mast and events such as a light show on the harbor cancelled.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Kyiv officials announced a day of mourning on Friday to honor the victims, with national flags at half-mast across the city of three million people.
    Reuters, NBC news, 15 May 2026
  • Here's when flags are traditionally lowered in the United States and the difference between half-mast and half-staff.
    Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 25 May 2026

half-mast

2 of 2 verb
  • For ships and naval stations ashore, the flags are flown at half-mast.
    Jenny Porter Tilley, IndyStar, 20 Feb. 2026
  • The term half-staff is used for flags on land, while half-mast refers to flags on ships.
    Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Dec. 2025
  • Pritzker ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in his honor.
    Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Though her own enthusiasm is half-mast at best.
    Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
  • Here's when flags are lowered and the difference between half-mast and half-staff.
    Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Carney ordered government buildings to fly flags at half-mast for the next week.
    Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 12 Feb. 2026
  • Some states and local entities may choose to fly flags at half-staff and half-mast without a federal mandate.
    Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Casa Cuba has declared a period of mourning and lowered its flags to half-mast.
    Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The Spanish flag was flown at half-mast in front of Parliament in Madrid for the victims on Monday.
    Dallas Morning News, 19 Jan. 2026
  • The President publicly mourned Charlie Kirk’s death, ordering flags to fly at half-mast.
    Chantelle Lee, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Later, Carney ordered the Canadian flags be flown at half-mast on all government buildings for seven days.
    Dennis Romero, NBC news, 11 Feb. 2026
  • However, the palace still maintained a few traditions — including lowering some flags to half-mast across the country during the period of mourning.
    Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Flags flew at half-mast on public buildings, television anchors wore black, and cabinet ministers curtailed public appearances as Spain observed the first of three days of national mourning.
    CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026

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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