plural halos or haloes
1
: a circle of light appearing to surround the sun or moon and resulting from refraction or reflection of light by ice particles in the atmosphere
2
: something resembling a halo: such as
a
: nimbus
b
: a region of space surrounding a galaxy that is sparsely populated with luminous objects (such as globular clusters) but is believed to contain a great deal of dark matter
c
: a differentiated zone surrounding a central zone or object
d
or halo brace
: an orthopedic device used to immobilize the head and neck (as to treat fracture of neck vertebrae) that consists of a metal band placed around the head and fastened to the skull usually with metal pins and that is attached by extensions to an inflexible vest
3
: the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing
haloed; haloing; haloes
: to form into or surround with a halo
rainbows haloed the waterfalls—
Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford
see hal-
Examples of halo in a Sentence
Noun
the halo of unimpeachable honesty in which the politician had long basked
a naturalistic depiction of Saint Peter that shows him as a humble fisherman and without the traditional halo
Recent Examples on the Web
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Apr. 2025
The halo stars are among the first inhabitants of our galaxy and collectively represent an older population from the stars, like our sun, that formed later in the disk, NASA notes.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 26 Sep. 2024
Is the Milky Way’s dark matter halo a smooth schmear?
—Joshua Sokol, Quanta Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for halo
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Noun
These currents extend a sort of halo around the globe that helps protect Earth from cosmic radiation.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Apr. 2025
The halo stars are among the first inhabitants of our galaxy and collectively represent an older population from the stars, like our sun, that formed later in the disk, NASA notes.
—Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
The mother of one recently shared an image of herself and her baby boy halo chilling in the gym and twinning, rocking matching bandanas.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 26 Sep. 2024
Is the Milky Way’s dark matter halo a smooth schmear?
—Joshua Sokol, Quanta Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for halo
Cite this Entry
“Halo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halo. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
halo
noun
ha·lo
ˈhā-(ˌ)lō 
plural halos or haloes
1
: a circle of light appearing to surround a luminous body
especially
: one seen as the result of the presence of glaucoma
2
: a differentiated zone surrounding a central object
the halo around a boil
3
: the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing
4
: an orthopedic device used to immobilize the head and neck (as to treat fracture of neck vertebrae) that consists of a metal band placed around the head and fastened to the skull usually with metal pins and that is attached by extensions to an inflexible vest
called also halo brace
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