Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: DRINK

half

2 noun
     
half2 S1 W2 plural halves [countable]
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 something)
in the first half of the nineteenth century
He kept the other half of the cake for himself.
top/bottom/northern etc half (of something)
A veil covered the lower half of her face.
the southern half of the country
break/cut/tear etc something in half (=into two equal parts)
She tore the piece of paper in half.
reduce/cut something by half (=make something 50% smaller)
a plan to cut European forces by half
2

sport

DS 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

DSF 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

British EnglishDFD a half of a pint of beer
half of
Can I have a half of lager, please?
5

ticket

British EnglishTT 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
9

not do something 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 something)

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

British English informal very clever, rich etc in an annoying way:
That boy's too arrogant by half.
12

how the other half lives

SS how people who are much richer or much poorer than you manage their lives, work, money etc
Definition of half from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic DRINK
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