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Definition of "halt" []

  • A suspension of movement or progress, especially a temporary one: The car rolled to a halt when it stalled. (noun)
  • To cause to stop: The government hopes to halt tax fraud. (verb-transitive)
  • To stop; pause: The hikers halted for lunch and some rest. See Synonyms at stop. (verb-intransitive)
  • To proceed or act with uncertainty or indecision; waver. (verb-intransitive)
  • To be defective or proceed poorly, as in the development of an argument in logic or in the rhythmic structure of verse. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "halt" in a sentence
  • "Having the sun and moon halt is extraordinarily uncommon."
  • "Brian Strutton, the GMB union's national secretary for public services, said: Is Mr Alexander saying in reaction to the way some unions are proceeding, what we are going to do is call a halt to these negotiations, so for the majority like me, who are trying to negotiate our way through this, the government is actually switching me off, actually pushing me in the dispute camp?"
  • "As his successor was calling a halt to budget negotiations with Republicans on a June special election at the end of last month, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was in London for the gala honoring his friend Mikhail Gorbachev's 80th birthday."