(half-mast)
11half-mast — I. noun Date: 1588 a point some distance but not necessarily halfway down below the top of a mast or staff or the peak of a gaff II. transitive verb Date: 1891 to cause to hang at half mast < half mast a flag > …
12half-mast — PHRASE: usu PHR after v If a flag is flying at half mast, it is flying from the middle of the pole, not the top, to show respect and sorrow for someone who has just died. Flags have been flying at half mast, and schools, offices and businesses… …
13half mast — • a poor erection, not fully up, like a flag at half mast. e.g. I had so much to drink I could only get half mast ! …
14ˌhalf-ˈmast — noun at half mast a flag that is at half mast has been lowered to the middle of a pole in order to show respect for someone who has died[/ex] …
15half-mast — /haf mast , hahf mahst /, n. 1. a position approximately halfway between the top of a mast, staff, etc., and its base. v.t. 2. to place (a flag) at half mast, as a mark of respect for the dead or as a signal of distress. [1620 30] * * * …
16half-mast — UK / US noun at half mast …
17half-mast — noun The lowered position, half the height of a mast, at which a flag is flown when expressing respect for the dead …
18half-mast — noun a position some distance below the top of a mast to which a flag is lowered in mourning or to signal distress • Syn: ↑half staff • Hypernyms: ↑position, ↑place …
19half mast — halfway down from the top of a mast; hung halfway down the mast (of a flag) …
20half mast — noun 1》 a position of a flag halfway down its mast, as a mark of respect for a person who has died. 2》 humorous a position lower than normal, especially for clothes …
