half term

plural half terms · alternative half-term

1. UKA short school holiday in the middle of the term, generally lasting a week.

   I have just visited him at his mother's home where he is spending half term and we reminisced while looking at his photo album.

   1979, SWT, Social Work Today

   3 more examples

   Georgia's not a very good correspondent, which is perfectly reasonable at her age, but she didn't come down for half term and then she didn't come for Easter either.

   2011, Marcia Willett, Hattie's Mill, Hachette UK, →ISBN

   “Good idea. The boy seems to be coping quite well, although I had a feeling he wasn't too happy about spending half term in Crete with his old grandpa."

   2011, Patricia Fenn, Poseidon's Trident, Andrews UK Limited, →ISBN

   "We had an extraordinary February half term - I think we had 22,000 visitors in the seven days. Which actually is a bit like bedlam at times."

   2020 June 3, Sam Mullins OBE discusses with Stefanie Foster, “LTM: a new chapter begins at 40”, in Rail, page 54

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see half, term.