Halt Meaning
/hɒlt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo limp; move with a limping gait.
verbTo stand in doubt whether to proceed, or what to do; hesitate; be uncertain; linger; delay; mammer.
Sentence Examples
The train was brought to a sudden halt.
Then, the train screeched to a halt.
Work came to a halt when the machine broke down.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The train came to a sudden ____ because of a red signal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The production line came to a sudden ____ when a major piece of machinery malfunctioned and needed repairs.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English halten, from Old English healtian (“to be lame, walk with a limp”), from Proto-West Germanic *haltōn, related to *halt. English usage in the sense of 'make a halt' is from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian halte, Swedish halta.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Here comes Sir Toby halting — you shall hear more; but if he had not been in drink, he would have tickled you othergates than he did."
— c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
"Do not smile at me that I boast her of,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,
And make it halt behind her."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
"How long halt ye between two opinions?"
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 18:21:
"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."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"Without any halt they marched."
— 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The train came to a sudden ____ because of a red signal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The production line came to a sudden ____ when a major piece of machinery malfunctioned and needed repairs.