English Reference
Idiom idiom

half murder


The committing of a grievous, but not fatal, injury.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The angry dog nearly beat the intruder half to death.

CONTEXTUAL

The fight was so violent that the attacker left his opponent half murdered in the alleyway.

COMPLEX

The brutal assault left the victim half murdered, requiring months of intensive care to recover from such severe physical trauma.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all over hell's half acre

    All over the place; everywhere.

  2. 02

    baker's half dozen

    Seven, a group of seven.

  3. 03

    do by halves

    To perform (a task, etc) partially or incompletely; to do (something) inadequately, halfheartedly, or shoddily.

  4. 04

    go halves

    To divide equally between two parties.

  5. 05

    half a brain

    A very basic or minimal level of intelligence.

  6. 06

    half a head

    Synonym of half a brain.

  7. 07

    half a mind

    A moderate inclination.

  8. 08

    half joke

    A statement which contains elements of both jest and seriousness.

Last updated August 10, 2026