half

half¹ W1S1 [ha:f US hæf] predeterminer, pron, adj [only before noun]

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1¦(50%)¦

2¦(most of)¦

3¦(time)¦

4¦(combination)¦

5 half a dozen

6 half a/the chance

7 half an eye/ear

8 be half the battle

9 half a minute/moment/second etc

10 only half the story

11 have half a mind to do something

12 half measures

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1.) ¦(50%)¦

exactly or about 50% (½) of an amount, time, distance, number etc

half of

▪ Over half of the children live in one-parent families.

▪ Only half the guests had arrived by seven o'clock.

▪ If you look at our members, at least half are women.

half a mile/pound/hour etc

▪ half a pound of butter

▪ It's about half a mile down the road.

▪ She drank half a bottle of wine.

▪ half a million dollars

a half hour/mile etc

▪ You can't just waltz in a half hour late.

▪ It's about a half mile down the road.

▪ a half day excursion to the island

▪ He demanded a half share of the money.

half the price/size/length etc

▪ It's only half the size of a normal violin.

▪ They offered to pay half the cost of repairs.

2.) ¦(MOST OF)¦

the largest part of something

half of

▪ We missed half of what he said because someone was talking.

▪ She seems to be asleep half the time .

▪ Getting covered in mud is half the fun .

3.) ¦(TIME)¦

half (past) one/two/three etc

BrE thirty minutes after the hour mentioned

▪ I rang at about half six.

▪ I got home at about half past one.

▪ We'll be there by seven or half past.

4.) ¦(COMBINATION)¦

if something is half one thing and half something else, it is a combination of those two things

▪ He's half English, half Swiss.

5.) half a dozen

a) six

▪ half a dozen eggs

b) a small number of people or things

▪ There were half a dozen other people in front of me.

6.) half a/the chance

a small opportunity to do something, especially one which someone would take eagerly

▪ I'd go to university if I got half the chance .

▪ Many kids would sleep till noon given half a chance .

7.) half an eye/ear

if you have half an eye on something, or if you are listening with half an ear, you are giving only part of your attention to it

▪ He listened with only half an ear and his thoughts wandered.

▪ The teacher kept half an eye on them all through the lesson.

8.) be half the battle

spoken used to say that when you have done the most difficult part of an activity, the rest is easy

▪ Getting the audience to like you is half the battle.

9.) half a minute/moment/second etc

spoken a very short time

▪ Hold on, this will only take half a second.

10.) only half the story

an explanation that is not complete, used especially to say that someone is trying to keep something secret

▪ Journalists are convinced that she was only telling them half the story.

11.) have half a mind to do sth

spoken used to say that you would like to do something but you probably will not do it

▪ He had half a mind to ask for his money back.

▪ I have half a mind to tell your mother about this.

12.) half measures

actions or methods that are not strong enough, and so are not effective in dealing with a difficult problem

▪ This is no time for half measures.

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GRAMMAR

!! You do not usually say 'the half' : I've only read half of the story (NOT I've only read the half of the story). The only time you say 'the half' is when you are referring to a particular half |the first half of the book

!! Do not say 'one and half', 'two and half' etc. Say one and a half , two and a half etc : She is two and a half years old. These numbers are followed by a plural noun, not a singular one |one and a half days (NOT one and a half day)

!! Do not say 'half of hour'. Say half an hour or, especially in spoken American English, a half hour .

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half ²

half² W2S1 plural halves [ha:vz US hævz]

n

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1¦(50%)¦

2¦(sport)¦

3¦(player)¦

4¦(beer)¦

5¦(ticket)¦

6 a ... and a half

7 the half of it

8 your better half/other half

9 not do something by halves

10 go halves (on something)

11 too clever/rich/good etc by half

12 how the other half lives

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1.) ¦(50%)¦

one of two equal parts of something

▪ Two halves make a whole.

one/two etc and a half

(=1½, 2½ etc)

▪ My son's three and a half now.

▪ an hour and a half later

▪ two and a half thousand people

first/second/other half (of sth)

▪ in the first half of the nineteenth century

▪ He kept the other half of the cake for himself.

top/bottom/northern etc half (of sth)

▪ A veil covered the lower half of her face.

▪ the southern half of the country

break/cut/tear etc sth in half

(=into two equal parts)

▪ She tore the piece of paper in half.

reduce/cut sth by half

(=make something 50% smaller)

▪ a plan to cut European forces by half

2.) ¦(SPORT)¦

one of the two parts into which a sports event is divided

first/second half

▪ France played very well in the first half.

3.) ¦(PLAYER)¦

a player who plays in the middle part of the field in sports like football, ↑rugby etc

▪ the 23-year-old Newcastle centre half

4.) ¦(BEER)¦

BrE a half of a ↑pint of beer

half of

▪ Can I have a half of lager, please?

5.) ¦(TICKET)¦

BrE a child's ticket, for example on a bus or train, that is cheaper than an adult's ticket

▪ One and a half to Waterloo, please.

6.) a ... and a half informal

used when you think that something is very unusual or surprising, or very good

▪ That was a meal and a half!

7.) the half of it

spoken used to emphasize that a situation is more difficult, complicated, or unpleasant than people realize

▪ Everyone knows she's a difficult girl, but they don't know the half of it .

8.) your better half/other half

old-fashioned used humorously to mean your husband or wife

▪ Let me introduce you to my better half.

9.) not do sth by halves

to do something very eagerly and using a lot of care and effort

▪ I'm sure it will be a fantastic wedding. Eva never does anything by halves.

10.) go halves (on sth)

to share something, especially the cost of something, equally between two people

▪ Do you want to go halves on a pizza?

11.) too clever/rich/good etc by half

BrE informal very clever, rich etc in an annoying way

▪ That boy's too arrogant by half.

12.) how the other half lives

how people who are much richer or much poorer than you manage their lives, work, money etc

half ³

half³ S2 adv

1.) partly, but not completely

▪ He was half in the water and half out.

▪ She was standing there half dressed, putting on her makeup.

▪ The door was only half closed.

▪ The jug was still half full .

▪ a half-empty wine bottle

▪ I was only half awake .

▪ He looked half asleep .

▪ I was half expecting her to say 'no'.

▪ I half hoped that they wouldn't come.

▪ I said it half jokingly.

2.) used to emphasize something bad, to say that it is almost an extremely bad thing

▪ The kitten looked half starved.

▪ He was half dead with exhaustion.

▪ I had been driven half out of my mind with worry.

3.) a) half as much/big etc

half the size, amount etc of something else

▪ The new machine has all the same functions, but is only half as large.

b) half as much/big etc again

larger by an amount that is equal to half the original size

▪ A flat in London costs almost half as much again as a flat in Glasgow.

4.) not half as/so good/interesting etc (as sb/sth)

much less good, less interesting etc than someone or something else

▪ The movie wasn't half as entertaining as the book.

▪ She can't love you half as much as I do.

5.) not half

BrE spoken used when you want to emphasize an opinion or statement

▪ She doesn't half talk once she gets started.

6.) not half bad

spoken an expression meaning good, used especially when you are rather surprised that something is good

▪ Actually, the party wasn't half bad.

7.) half and half

partly one thing and partly another

▪ The group was about half and half, complete beginners and people with some experience.