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half-hour IPA /ˌhɑːf ˈaʊə(r)/ KK [hˈæfˌaʊɚ] IPA /ˌhæf ˈaʊər/
half-hour half-hour — noun 1. A length of time that lasts 30 minutes. 1. noun A1
A length of time that lasts 30 minutes.
The train from Taipei arrives in half an hour.
half an hour — common fixed phrase
Christopher waited for half an hour outside the library.
View 3 more examples The meeting was scheduled to last only half an hour.
Hoa checks her email every half hour at the office.
every half hour — frequency pattern
Mauricio spends half an hour reading to his daughter each evening.
half an hour a half hour every half hour within the half-hour half an hour later
30 minutes more formal and exact; preferred in schedules and written instructions
half an hour the most common conversational form in both British and American English
hour a period twice as long
Grammar Patterns half an hour
a half hour
every half hour
half an hour + verb
Common Mistakes I will be back in half hour. I will be back in half an hour. The indefinite article 'an' is required before 'hour' in this fixed expression. The movie lasts for half of hour. The movie lasts for half an hour. Use 'half an hour' or 'a half hour', not 'half of hour'. 2. The time exactly 30 minutes past the start of an hour, used when telling when ev 2. noun A2
The time exactly 30 minutes past the start of an hour, used when telling when events happen rather than how long they last.
The bus comes at the half-hour, so the next one is at half past three.
at the half-hour — scheduled-event time expression
Aoi promised to call her mother on the half-hour after work.
View 2 more examples The church bells ring every hour on the half-hour for evening prayers.
on the half-hour — marking a regular time
Folake's favourite radio show starts on the half-hour each morning.
at the half-hour on the half-hour past the half-hour the half-hour mark
half past preferred in British-influenced time-telling; more common in speech than 'the half-hour'
thirty past used in American English time-telling; a direct alternative
on the hour the starting point of an hour, the opposite clock position
Grammar Patterns at the half-hour
on the half-hour
past the half-hour
Common Mistakes The train leaves on every half hour. The train leaves on the half-hour. Use the definite article 'the' when referring to the 30-minute mark of each hour. I will arrive at half-hour past two. I will arrive at half past two.' or 'I will arrive at the half-hour. Do not combine 'half-hour' with 'past' like that. half adjective A1
half pronoun A1
hour noun A1
half-hourly adjective B1
half-hourly adverb B1
Sense: noun/1
Half-hour, half an hour, and 30 minutes all refer to the same length of time, but differ in how natural they sound in speech. Half an hour is the most common conversational form in both British and American English (I'll be back in half an hour). Half-hour often appears in compound adjectives (a half-hour show) or fixed expressions (every half hour). 30 minutes is more formal or precise and is preferred in schedules, timetables, and written instructions (the exam lasts 30 minutes). In Taiwan English teaching, half an hour is typically the first form introduced at beginner level.
Phrases half an hour on the half-hour every half hour at the half-hour within the half-hour Old English Old French Latin English Half-hour comes from combining Old English 'healf' (meaning half) with Old French 'hore' (meaning hour), which itself came from Latin 'hora' meaning a fixed period of time. The compound has been in use since the 14th century.
First known use
15th century
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1