1
general::
noun ADJ. first, second | last, latter in the latter half of the nineteenth century | top, upper | bottom, lower the lower half of the window | front | back, rear the rear half of the car | left, right the left half of the brain | northern, western, etc. the northern half of the country PREP. by a ~ Costs rose by a half. | in ~ We divided the money in half. | in the … ~ He played well in the second half of the match. | ~ of the first half of the concert Over a half of all accidents happen in the home. PHRASES about/almost/at least/over a half Over a half of all the people interviewed said they were disappointed in the government. | half and half We split the work half and half. | one/two/three, etc. and a half She's four and a half years old now.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
In addition to the idioms beginning with HALF, Also see AT HALF-MAST; BETTER HALF; BY HALF; GLASS IS HALF FULL; GO HALFWAY; GO OFF (HALF-COCKED); IN HALF; NOT BAD (HALF BAD); SIX OF ONE, HALF DOZEN OF THE OTHER; TIME AND A HALF; WITH HALF AN EYE. Also see under HALF-WAY; HALVES.
American Heritage Idioms
3
general::
half
verbs
break/cut/tear something in half
(= into two equal pieces )
• He tore the paper in half.
divide/split something in half
• Divide the dough in half.
reduce/cut something by half
(= make something 50% smaller or 50% less )
• The company has reduced the number of staff by half.
decrease/fall by half
(= become 50% less )
• Share prices fell by half.
increase/rise by half
(= become 50% more )
• The number of passengers using the service has increased by half.
adjectives
the top/bottom half
• He graduated in the top half of his law school class.
the upper/lower half
• The upper half of the door contained a stained glass window.
the northern/southern half
• The northern half of the city is generally poorer.
the first/second half
• Profits doubled in the first half of the year.
the other half
• Half the patients were given the drug and the other half were given a sugar pill.
the last/latter half
• He struggled with ill health in the latter half of his life.
phrases
one/two etc and a half
• ‘How old is she?’ ‘Five and a half.’
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