At Half-Staff

B1 8+

Pronunciation: /æt hæf stæf/

Definitions of at half-staff

noun A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. In this case, 'staff' refers to a group of employees or a pole or rod.

Example Sentences

A1 The flag was flying at half-staff.

A2 The president ordered the flags to be flown at half-staff.

B1 The school lowered the flag at half-staff in honor of the fallen soldiers.

B2 The community came together to raise funds for a memorial at half-staff.

C1 The decision to keep the flag at half-staff sparked a debate among the citizens.

C2 The tradition of flying the flag at half-staff during times of mourning dates back centuries.

preposition A word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence. In this case, 'at' indicates the location or position of something.

Example Sentences

A1 The flag was flying at half-staff in honor of the fallen soldiers.

A2 The school held a ceremony with the flag at half-staff to remember a beloved teacher.

B1 The president ordered all government buildings to fly their flags at half-staff for a week.

B2 The community came together to raise funds for a memorial at half-staff for the victims of the tragedy.

C1 The international organization declared a day of mourning with flags at half-staff in all member countries.

C2 The prestigious university lowered its flag at half-staff to pay tribute to a renowned professor who passed away.

Examples of at half-staff in a Sentence

formal The flag was flown at half-staff to honor the passing of a respected leader.

informal Hey, did you notice the flag is at half-staff today? Wonder what happened.

slang The flag is at half-staff, something must be up.

figurative His spirits were at half-staff after receiving the bad news.

Grammatical Forms of at half-staff

past tense

was at half-staff

plural

are at half-staff

comparative

more at half-staff

superlative

most at half-staff

present tense

is at half-staff

future tense

will be at half-staff

perfect tense

has been at half-staff

continuous tense

is being at half-staff

singular

is at half-staff

positive degree

at half-staff

infinitive

to be at half-staff

gerund

being at half-staff

participle

at half-staffed

Origin and Evolution of at half-staff

First Known Use: 1612 year
Language of Origin: English
Story behind the word: The term 'at half-staff' originated from naval tradition where lowering a ship's flag halfway down the mast was a sign of mourning or respect for a deceased person.
Evolution of the word: Over time, the term 'at half-staff' has become widely used in both naval and land-based contexts to indicate the lowering of a flag as a symbol of mourning or respect.