halve Hear it!

halve Definition

halve (hav, häv)

transitive verb halved, halv·ing

  1. to divide into two equal parts
  2. to share (something) equally with someone to halve one's winnings with another
  3. to reduce by fifty percent; reduce to half
  4. Carpentry to join (two pieces of wood) by cutting away an end of each to half its thickness and fitting the cut ends together
  5. Golf to play (a hole, match, etc.) in the same number of strokes as one's opponent

Etymology: ME halven < half, half

halve Synonyms

halve

v.

split, bisect, cut in two; see divide 1.

halve Usage Examples

Object

  • poverty: They include the aim to halve world poverty by 2015.
  • proportion: UN's aim is to halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015.
  • deficit: Three wins in four games - the most recent against Wednesday -has halved the deficit to five points.
  • tomato: Halve the tomatoes and bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes until the skins slide easily from the flesh.
  • onion: Firstly, you need to peel and halve a large onion, and then slice into very thin, crescent moon shapes.
  • hunger: This is an examination of the feasibility of halving world hunger by 2015.

Preposition: over

  • decade: The number of burglaries has halved over the last decade.
  • period: Such earnings have halved over the period, Table 13.

Modifying Another Word

  • lengthways: Finely shred the cucumber halves lengthways into long thin shreds, using a mandolin.
  • lengthwise: Halve lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds and fibers.
  • roughly: The size would be roughly halved, to 300 to 400 members serving six-year terms.
  • almost: The price of the average laptop has almost halved in the last two years.
  • nearly: By 1980 the catch nearly halved to 45,000 metric tons.
  • approximately: The figures below for December are slightly unrepresentative, as the hit rate was approximately halved during the extended holiday period.

Used with why or when

  • when: Theoretically, the dose of protamine sulfate should be halved when one half-life has elapsed since the last LMW heparin dose.

Preposition: in

  • decade: The number of accidental deaths among children has halved in the last decade.
  • size: Coventry retained the team trophy as the field halved in size between the start and the finish.
  • value: The German stock market has halved in value in just six months.
  • price: Even goats - which eat anything and are surviving better - have halved in price.

Preposition: of

  • poverty: It would also be " extremely challenging " to hit the next stage - a halving of child poverty by 2010.

Browse dictionary entries near halve

  1. halvah
  2. halutz
  3. halting
  4. halter
  5. halt
  6. Halsey
  7. Hals
  8. halothane
  9. halophyte
  10. halophile
  1. halves
  2. halyard
  3. ham
  4. ham-handed
  5. ham radio
  6. Hama
  7. hamada
  8. Hamadan
  9. hamadryad
  10. hamal