halves

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of half.

   The recipe calls for both halves of the lemon.

   He fitted the two halves of the broken plate back together.

   Note

   Here the f of half turns to v before the plural ending, the same shift heard in leaf/leaves and knife/knives. The plural follows every use of half: the two halves of a match, the opposing halves of a playing field, and, in British pubs, two halves of beer or cider. The identical spelling is also the verb meaning 'cuts in two', so only the sentence's structure tells them apart.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of halve.

   The new tunnel halves the travel time between the two cities.

   Each step in the process halves the amount of waste produced.

   Note

   A verb that always takes an object: something halves a cost, a loaf, a distance. Beyond cutting amounts and things in two, it carries two specialist uses. A carpenter halves two timbers by cutting each away to half its thickness so they fit together, and in match play a side that ties halves the contest. Its v comes from the same voicing as the plural noun.

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