Dictionary

halve en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /hæv/ (General-American)
• /hɑːv/ (Australia, England, New-Zealand, Wales)
• /hav/ (Ireland, Scotland)
• (Southern-England) audio
• häv (Australia, England, New-Zealand, Wales)
• hăv (General-American)
• /hɛəv/ New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

Etymology

From Middle English halven, helven, from Old English hilfan, helfan, *hielfan (“to halve, divide in two”), from Proto-West Germanic *halbijan, from Proto-Germanic *halbijaną (“to halve”), from Proto-Germanic *halbaz (“half”). Cognate with Middle Dutch halven (“to halve”), Middle High German halben, helben (“to halve”). Compare also West Frisian helte (“to halve”), Dutch halveren (“to halve”), German Low German halberen (“to halve”), German halbieren (“to halve”), Danish halvere (“to halve”), Swedish halvera (“to halve”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To reduce to half the original amount.
   • These show that since 1946 the fatality rate in train and movement accidents combined has been halved, [...]. 1960 December, “Talking of Trains: B.R. safety in 1959”, in Trains Illustrated, page 708:
   • The difficulty of each puzzle would increase as the number of miners increased, which would keep production to one block of transactions roughly every 10 minutes. In addition, the size of each block bounty would halve every 210,000 blocks—first from 50 bitcoins to 25, then from 25 to 12.5, and so on. Around the year 2140, the currency would reach its preordained limit of 21 million bitcoins. 2011 November 23, Benjamin Wallace, “The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin”, in Wired, San Francisco, Calif.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2025:
2. (transitive) To divide into two halves.
3. (transitive) To make up half of.
   • So far apart their lives are thrown / From the twin soul that halves their own. 1855, Matthew Arnold, Faded Leaves:
4. (transitive) To join two pieces of timber etc. by cutting away each for half its thickness at the joining place, and fitting together.
5. (transitive) In match play, to achieve a tie or draw on.
   • All that counts is whether you won, lost, or halved the match. 2005, Bill Elliott, The Golf Bag Buddy: The Essential On-Course Reference, page 67:
   • I, of course, had no difficulty in doing likewise, and we halved the hole; but the awkward fact remained that I must now gain every hole to win the match, for my opponent's score was "nine up," and there only remained ten holes to play. 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:

Forms

Deriveds

halve it · a problem shared is a problem halved · halvable · a trouble shared is a trouble halved · a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved · cross-halving joint

Synonyms

dimidiate · dichotomize (to divide into two halves)

Translations (66)

ru сократи́ть наполови́ну (to reduce to half of original) · he חָצָה (to divide in two equal parts) · pt cortar ao meio (to divide in two equal parts) · hu felez (to divide in two equal parts) · nds-de tweibreken (to divide in two equal parts) · ka ანახევრებს (to divide in two equal parts) · it dimezzare (to reduce to half of original) · bg намалявам наполовина (to reduce to half of original) · cy haneru (to reduce to half of original) · haw pālua (to divide in two equal parts) · es demediar (to reduce to half of original) · de halbieren (to reduce to half of original) · la mediō (to divide in two equal parts) · pl połowić (to divide in two equal parts) · cs rozpůlit (to divide in two equal parts) · ang hielfan (to reduce to half of original) · el υποδιπλασιάζω (to reduce to half of original) · pt mear (to reduce to half of original) · ang hielfan (to divide in two equal parts) · pt mear (to divide in two equal parts) · haw pālua (to reduce to half of original) · nds-de tobreken (to divide in two equal parts) · ka ნახევრად ამცირებს (to reduce to half of original) · ko 반으로 줄다 (to reduce to half of original) · de zweiteilen (to divide in two equal parts) · es partir por la mitades (to divide in two equal parts) · tsg tunga (to reduce to half of original) · de halbieren (to divide in two equal parts) · ka ნახევრად შეამცირებს (to reduce to half of original) · es reducir a la mitad (to reduce to half of original) · fi puolittaa (to divide in two equal parts) · it dimezzare (to divide in two equal parts) · ang twidǣlan (to divide in two equal parts) · sv halvera (to reduce to half of original) · tr ikiye bölmek (to divide in two equal parts) · de hälften (to divide in two equal parts) · es dimidiar (to divide in two equal parts) · nds-de halvern (to divide in two equal parts) · tr yarılamak (to reduce to half of original) · hu elfelez (to reduce to half of original) · hu kettéoszt (to divide in two equal parts) · ka შუაზე ჰყოფს (to divide in two equal parts) · fi panna puoliksi (to divide in two equal parts) · sh popoliviti (to divide in two equal parts) · la dimidiō (to divide in two equal parts) · ru дели́ть попола́м (to divide in two equal parts) · hu félbevág (to divide in two equal parts) · lt dalinti pusiau (to divide in two equal parts) · ru раздели́ть попола́м (to divide in two equal parts) · bg разполовявам (to divide in two equal parts) · es dividir en mitades (to divide in two equal parts) · fi puolittaa (to reduce to half of original) · nl halveren (to reduce to half of original) · es dimidiar (to reduce to half of original) · cs půlit (to divide in two equal parts) · sv halvera (to divide in two equal parts) · ko 이등분하다 (to divide in two equal parts) · mi weherua (to divide in two equal parts) · cy haneru (to divide in two equal parts) · ru сокраща́ть наполови́ну (to reduce to half of original) · nl halveren (to divide in two equal parts) · es demediar (to divide in two equal parts) · fr diviser en deux (to divide in two equal parts) · ka ანახევრებს (to reduce to half of original) · tr yarıya bölmek (to divide in two equal parts) · ka შუაზე ყოფს (to divide in two equal parts)