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half

 
 
/hɑːf/ noun, determiner (plural halves)

Definition

[C, U] one of two equal parts of something; 12;: Rice is eaten by half of the world's population. Cut the lemons into halves. It'll take half an hour to get there. Jenny lived in Beijing for a year and a half.
break/cut/split sth in half to divide something into two equal parts: Divide the dough in half and roll it out into two circles.
decrease/increase, etc sth by half to make something smaller/larger, etc by half its size: The drug reduces the risk of stroke by half.
half past one/two/three, etc mainly UK 30 minutes past one o'clock/two o'clock/three o'clock, etc: We got back to our hotel at half past seven.
half one/two/three, etc UK informal 30 minutes past one o'clock/two o'clock/three o'clock, etc: "What time does it start?" "About half six."
(Definition of half noundeterminer from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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