1 N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a halfwit , you think they have behaved in a stupid, silly, or irresponsible way. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
2 N‑COUNT A halfwit is a person who has little intelligence. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
ha lf-wi tted ADJ If you describe someone as half-witted , you think they are very stupid, silly, or irresponsible. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
ha lf-yea rly in AM, use semiannual 1 ADJ [ADJ n] Half-yearly means happening in the middle of a calendar year or a financial year. [BRIT ] □ …the Central Bank's half-yearly report on the state of the economy.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] A company's half-yearly profits are the profits that it makes in six months. [BRIT ] □ The company announced a half-yearly profit of just £2 million.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Half-yearly means happening twice a year, with six months between each event. [BRIT ] □ …half-yearly payments.
hali|but /hæ l I bət/ (halibut ) N‑VAR A halibut is a large flat fish. ● N‑UNCOUNT Halibut is this fish eaten as food.
hali|to|sis /hæ l I toʊ s I s/ N‑UNCOUNT If someone has halitosis , their breath smells unpleasant. [FORMAL ]
hall ◆◇◇ /hɔː l/ (halls )
1 N‑COUNT The hall in a house or flat is the area just inside the front door, into which some of the other rooms open. [BRIT ] in AM, use entrance hall 2 N‑COUNT A hall in a building is a long passage with doors into rooms on both sides of it. [mainly AM ] in BRIT, use hallway 3 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A hall is a large room or building which is used for public events such as concerts, exhibitions, and meetings. □ We picked up our conference materials and filed into the lecture hall.
4 → see also city hall , town hall
5 N‑COUNT If students live in hall in British English, or in a hall in American English, they live in a university or college building called a hall of residence .
6 N‑COUNT Hall is sometimes used as part of the name of a large house in the country. □ He died at Holly Hall, his wife's family home.
7 → see also entrance hall , music hall
hal|le|lu|jah /hæ l I luː jə/ also alleluia
1 EXCLAM Hallelujah is used in religious songs and worship as an exclamation of praise and thanks to God.
2 EXCLAM People sometimes say ' Hallelujah! ' when they are pleased that something they have been waiting a long time for has finally happened. □ Hallelujah! College days are over!
hall|mark /hɔː lmɑː r k/ (hallmarks )
1 N‑COUNT [usu with poss] The hallmark of something or someone is their most typical quality or feature. □ [+ of ] It's a technique that has become the hallmark of Amber Films.
2 N‑COUNT A hallmark is an official mark put on things made of gold, silver, or platinum that indicates the quality of the metal, where the object was made, and who made it.
hal|lo /hæloʊ / → see hello
ha ll of fa me (halls of fame )
1 N‑SING If you say that someone is a member of a particular hall of fame , you mean that they are one of the most famous people in that area of activity. □ The British designer has scaled the heights of fashion's hall of fame.
2 N‑COUNT In the United States, a hall of fame is a type of museum where people can see things relating to famous people who are connected with a particular area of activity.
ha ll of re si|dence (halls of residence ) N‑COUNT Halls of residence are buildings with rooms or flats, usually built by universities or colleges, in which students live during the term. [mainly BRIT ] in AM, use dormitory , residence hall
hal|lowed /hæ loʊd/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Hallowed is used to describe something that is respected and admired, usually because it is old, important, or has a good reputation. □ …one of opera's most hallowed halls, the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Hallowed is used to describe something that is considered to be holy. □ …hallowed ground.
Hal|low|een /hæ loʊiː n/ also Hallowe'en N‑UNCOUNT Halloween is the night of the 31st of October and is traditionally said to be the time when ghosts and witches can be seen. On Halloween, children often dress up as ghosts and witches.
hal|lu|ci|nate /həluː s I ne I t/ (hallucinates , hallucinating , hallucinated ) VERB If you hallucinate , you see things that are not really there, either because you are ill or because you have taken a drug. □ [V ] Hunger made him hallucinate. [Also V that]
hal|lu|ci|na|tion /həluː s I ne I ʃ ə n/ (hallucinations ) N‑VAR A hallucination is the experience of seeing something that is not really there because you are ill or have taken a drug. □ The drug induces hallucinations at high doses.
hal|lu|ci|na|tory /həluː s I nətri, [AM ] -tɔːri/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Hallucinatory is used to describe something that is like a hallucination or is the cause of a hallucination. □ It was an unsettling show. There was a hallucinatory feel from the start.
hal|lu|cino|gen /həluː s I nədʒen/ (hallucinogens ) N‑COUNT A hallucinogen is a substance such as a drug which makes you hallucinate.
hal|lu|ci|no|gen|ic /həluː s I nədʒe n I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A hallucinogenic drug is one that makes you hallucinate.
hall|way /hɔː lwe I / (hallways )
1 N‑COUNT A hallway in a building is a long passage with doors into rooms on both sides of it.
2 N‑COUNT A hallway in a house or flat is the area just inside the front door, into which some of the other rooms open. [BRIT ] in AM, use entrance hall