halt

1 of 4

verb (1)

halted; halting; halts

intransitive verb

1
: to cease marching or journeying
2
: discontinue, terminate
the project halted for lack of funds

transitive verb

1
: to bring to a stop
the strike halted subways and buses
2
: to cause the discontinuance of : end
halt hostilities

halt

2 of 4

noun

: stop
The car came to a halt.
brought production to a halt

halt

3 of 4

verb (2)

halted; halting; halts

intransitive verb

1
: to walk or proceed with a limp
… that dogs bark at me as I halt by them.William Shakespeare
2
: to be in a state of uncertainty or doubt between alternate courses or choices : waver
3
: to display weakness or imperfection : falter
The argument often halts and sometimes breaks down completely.

halt

4 of 4

adjective

archaic
: having a manner of walking that is impaired by a limp
… there is a place for everyone … old and young, hale and haltSir Winston Churchill

Examples of halt in a Sentence

Noun They put a halt to the rumors. The car skidded to a halt.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
During the campaign, De León highlighted his own efforts to reduce homelessness, aid renters and halt gentrification in downtown L.A. and Boyle Heights. David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 In the case of the laundry building, the lamella roofs were identified as architecturally significant, halting the demolition process. The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024 But the group calls the lawsuit ‘unfounded’ But Paxton’s efforts were halted Monday when a judge ruled that his administrative subpoena is trumped by Texas’ rules of civil procedure about discovery. Holly Yan, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 Even before production was halted, sources say Swift was never scheduled to appear at any point. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024 And a judge halted a $4 billion debt relief program for Black farmers in June 2021. Julian Mark, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 The main obstruction halting the investigation team is structural steel that has fallen over the rubble, which can't be removed without the use of special equipment, doubly preventing the fire department from fully extinguishing the flames. Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Mar. 2024 In those long years when progress was halting, Collins, who is also an amateur musician, wrote a song to inspire a gathering of CF researchers. Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024 In February of last year, Ford Motor Co. temporarily halted production of its F-150 Lightning after one of the pickups ignited on fire, initially spreading to a second vehicle, while in a holding lot in Dearborn. Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
Remarkably, those aggressive moves didn’t bring the economy to a halt — or slow it down much at all. Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 The pandemic brought live events and big gatherings to a halt, silencing orchestras, shutting museums and movie theaters and leaving sports teams playing to empty stadiums dotted with cardboard cutouts. New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The vote against the landfill project marked the issue’s return to Jefferson City after a dispute over the project ground the state Senate to a halt last year. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 But the eight-year run of fantastic profits was brought to a halt by the two tragic crashes in 2018 and 2019, caused by the faulty design of a new flight control software system that repeatedly pushed down the nose of the then-new 737-8 Max. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2024 Except for that crazy time in the early 2020s when all automotive production virtually came to a halt and almost all cars became, for a year or so, appreciating assets. Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 3 Mar. 2024 Advance Warning Image A couple hours before the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, on the concourses outside Wembley, the lines of fans ground to a halt. Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 The Acura came to a halt on the side of the road, before merging back into traffic, and accelerating at a high rate of speed. Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024 The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA won key protections for screenwriters and actors against being replaced by AI, following months of strikes that brought the industry to a halt. Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
Verb
The plaintiffs sought an injunction — which the judge granted, in part — to halt the use of mifepristone nationwide while the case plays out. Chloe Atkins, NBC News, 8 Apr. 2023 In 2019, the F.D.A. tried unsuccessfully to get Aid Access to halt overseas shipping. Pam Belluck, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2023 The developer of the transmission line, Central Maine Power, is challenging an order from the state to halt construction after voters in November 2021 approved a ballot referendum that saddled the company with additional requirements and conditions. Sabrina Shankman, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2023 Three Alaska tribes are suing the federal government to halt the Donlin Gold project. Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Apr. 2023 But he was suspended by MLB, then fired by the Astros before the 2020 season for not doing more to halt the franchise's trash-can-banging cheating system during the 2017 season. Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2023 The bill would require the Department of the Interior to conduct additional lease sales for drilling on federal lands, prohibit the president from banning fracking, and reverse Biden’s decision to halt the Keystone XL pipeline. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 29 Mar. 2023 And without intervention to halt global warming, such cases are likely to continue increasing and spreading, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023 Beverley returns Sunday to Los Angeles with Chicago, a chance for the Bulls to halt the positive momentum the Lakers have built with a three-game winning streak when the teams play a pair of games on each of their home courts. Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2023
Adjective
The coronavirus crisis dealt another serious blow to Blackpool, leaving businesses struggling as tourism ground to a halt ‌during nationwide lockdowns. Megan Specia, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2022 This is when the fairytale comes crashing to a halt smack-dab in the middle of the Footprint Center. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 6 Dec. 2021 Minor posted its biggest quarterly loss in the three months ended June and has cut thousands of jobs to stay afloat after the pandemic ground to a halt global travel and tourism. Natnicha Chuwiruch, Bloomberg.com, 9 Oct. 2020 In addition to full-time jobs for recent graduates, many spring and summer internships came to a halt mid-program or were canceled before the summer began due to the pandemic. Kaitlin Edquist, chicagotribune.com, 4 Aug. 2020 In October, the Washington Department of Ecology ordered the company to keep its site clean and halt discharge of wastewater to storm drains. Scott Morris, ProPublica, 30 June 2010 He is expected to visit Tokyo Thursday and his office has lodge a formal complaint and request that US forces halt flight operations until the cause of Tuesday's accident is determined. Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 13 Dec. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'halt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb (1)

German, from Middle High German, from halt, imperative of halten to hold, from Old High German haltan — more at hold

Adjective and Verb (2)

Middle English, from Old English healt; akin to Old High German halz lame

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1656, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

circa 1598, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of halt was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near halt

Cite this Entry

“Halt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halt. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

halt

1 of 4 adjective

halt

2 of 4 verb
1
2
: to move unsteadily

halt

3 of 4 noun
: the ending of movement, progress, or action
call a halt

halt

4 of 4 verb
1
: to stop marching or journeying
2
: to bring to a stop : end
Etymology

Adjective

Old English healt "lame"

Noun

from German halt "stop," derived from earlier halten "to hold"

More from Merriam-Webster on halt

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