Half-hour Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

half-hour American [haf-ouuhr, -ou-er, hahf-] / ˈhæfˈaʊər, -ˈaʊ ər, ˈhɑf- /

noun

1. a period of 30 minutes.

2. the midpoint between the hours.

   The clock struck on the half-hour.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of a half-hour.

   half-hour programs.

half-hour British

noun

1. 1. a period of 30 minutes

   2. ( as modifier )

      a half-hour stint on the treadmill

2. 1. the point of time 30 minutes after the beginning of an hour

   2. ( as modifier )

      a half-hour chime

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• half-hourly adverb

Etymology

Origin of half-hour

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Recording and editing the song takes about a half-hour, punctuated by frequent pauses and a running commentary with himself.

From The Wall Street Journal

What resulted was one of the most uniquely chaotic half-hours of children’s television in the ’90s.

From Los Angeles Times

“Within the first half-hour of my shift today, I had 4 people very unhappy they couldn’t use their KC that expired yesterday,” one employee wrote on Reddit.

From The Wall Street Journal

I’m in development hell, but if Coppola could fight for a decade to make Apocalypse Now, I can stand by Endier Game for another half-hour.

From Barron's

He later appeared in a series of three half-hour radio sitcoms for BBC Radio 4, and also recorded a number of plays for the station.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.