in half

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English[edit]

Prepositional phrase[edit]

in half

  1. (set phrase) Into two halves.
    • 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 29, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, [], published 1839, →OCLC:
      Nicholas picked up Mr Lenville's ash stick which had flown out of his hand, and breaking it in half, threw him the pieces.
    • 1905, P. G. Wodehouse, A Corner in Lines:
      "Kindly take them in batches of ten sheets, and tear them in half, Dunstable."
    • 2014 July 2, Adam Withnall, “Hero Good Samaritan bends car door in half”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 23 July 2014:
      A hero exhibiting “superhuman strength” has saved the life of a motorist trapped in a burning vehicle by bending the car's door in half with his bare hands.
  2. (set phrase) By a divisor of two; to a numerical value which is half of the original value.

Usage notes[edit]

Formerly proscribed as improper, e.g., by Webster 1913.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  • in half”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.