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
Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 29 Oct. 2025
When a comet approaches the Sun, its ices heat up and vaporize, releasing gas and dust that form a glowing coma (a halo around the nucleus) and sometimes a tail that always points away from the Sun.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for halo
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Noun
Astronomers have long assumed massive dark matter halos provide the gravity needed to keep such small galaxies intact.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 29 Oct. 2025
When a comet approaches the Sun, its ices heat up and vaporize, releasing gas and dust that form a glowing coma (a halo around the nucleus) and sometimes a tail that always points away from the Sun.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
Yet doubts, of the kind that halo the rock revolution, have always hovered around the idea of the Renaissance.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for halo
Cite this Entry
“Halo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halo. Accessed 31 Oct. 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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