Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Halt
Halt
Yet in their march soon make a
Halt
,Halt
Halt
,Halt
,Webster 1828 Edition
Halt
HALT
, v.i.HALT
,HALT
,HALT
,Definition 2024
Halt
halt
halt
English
Verb
halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted)
- (intransitive) To limp; move with a limping gait.
- (intransitive) To stand in doubt whether to proceed, or what to do; hesitate; be uncertain; linger; delay; mammer.
- Bible, 1 Kings xviii. 21
- How long halt ye between two opinions?
- Bible, 1 Kings xviii. 21
- (intransitive) To be lame, faulty, or defective, as in connection with ideas, or in measure, or in versification.
Translations
Etymology 2
From Old French halte, from Old High German halten (“to hold”). More at hold.
Verb
halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted)
- (intransitive) To stop marching.
- (intransitive) To stop either temporarily or permanently.
- 1907, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “chapter I”, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:
- And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
-
- (transitive) To bring to a stop.
- (transitive) To cause to discontinue.
- The contract negotiations halted operations for at least a week.
Translations
Noun
halt (plural halts)
- A cessation, either temporary or permanent.
- The contract negotiations put a halt to operations.
- Clarendon
- Without any halt they marched.
- (rail transport) A minor railway station (usually unstaffed) in the United Kingdom.
- The halt itself never achieved much importance, even with workers coming to and from the adjacent works.
Translations
Etymology 3
Old English healt (verb healtian), from Proto-Germanic *haltaz. Cognate with Danish halt, Swedish halt.
Adjective
halt (comparative more halt, superlative most halt)
- (archaic) Lame, limping.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark IX:
- It is better for the to goo halt into lyfe, then with ij. fete to be cast into **** [...].
- Bible, Luke xiv. 21
- Bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark IX:
Verb
halt (third-person singular simple present halts, present participle halting, simple past and past participle halted)
- To limp.
- 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 4 scene 1
- Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
- For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
- And make it halt behind her.
- 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 4 scene 1
- To waver.
- To falter.
Translations
Noun
halt (plural halts)
Anagrams
Alemannic German
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /halt/
Adverb
halt
- just, simply
- 1978, Rolf Lyssy & Christa Maerker, Die Schweizermacher, (transcript):
- Chömmer halt e chli früner. Schadet a nüt.
- Then we'll just arrive a little earlier. It won't do any harm.
- Chömmer halt e chli früner. Schadet a nüt.
- 1978, Rolf Lyssy & Christa Maerker, Die Schweizermacher, (transcript):
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /halt/
Etymology 1
From the verb halten (“to hold; to stop”).
Verb
halt
- Imperative singular of halten.
Interjection
halt!
Etymology 2
From Middle High German halt, pertaining to Old High German halto (“soon, fast”).
Adverb
halt
- (colloquial, modal particle) so, just, simply, indicating that something is generally known, or cannot be changed, or the like; often untranslatable
- Er ist halt ein Idiot...
- So he’s an idiot...
- Dann müssen wir halt härter arbeiten.
- Then we’ll just have to work harder.
- Er ist halt ein Idiot...
Usage notes
- The word is originally southern German and is still so considered by some contemporary dictionaries. It has, however, become generally accepted throughout the language area during the past decades.
See also
Hungarian
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhɒlt]
- Hyphenation: halt
Verb
halt