in half

in half

English

Prepositional phrase

in half

1. (set phrase) Into two halves.
   • 1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, ch. 29:

     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," 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.
   • 2005 April 26, Andrew Pollack, "Breast Cancer Recurrence Is Cut in Half by a Drug," New York Times (retrieved 23 July 2014):

     A biotechnology cancer drug cuts in half the risk that one type of breast cancer will recur after surgery.

   • 2012 May 16, John Otis, "The Blast in Bogotá: A Reminder of Colombia's Unsolved Problems," Time (retrieved 23 July 2014):

     [H]e helped oversee a military offensive that cut the numbers of rebel forces in half to about 8,000 fighters.

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

• (into two halves): in two; see also Thesaurus:asunder

Translations

fifty-fifty — see fifty-fifty

References

• in half at OneLook Dictionary Search