half-mast
verb1
To fly a flag in this position.
- Synonyms
- half-staff, semi
half-mast
noun1
The lowered position, half the height of a mast, at which a flag is flown when mourning, especially expressing respect for the deceased.
- Any other UK national flags flown alongside the Union Flag when it is at half-mast should also be at half-mast.2016 October 13, Department for Culture, Media & Sport and Foreign & Commonwealth Office, "Flag-flying from UK government buildings for the death of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand", GOV.UK, Government Digital Service
- He is to be cremated later Thursday at a ceremony likely to be attended by the country's top leadership. Flags were seen flying at half-mast in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. China's state news agency Xinhua reported that flags would be lowered at government buildings across mainland China, semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and in consulates abroad.2023 November 2, “China mourns late ex-Premier Li Keqiang”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 02 Nov 2023, China:
2
Broadly The lowered position of anything.
3
Business, Clothing, Fashion, Lifestyle, Manufacturing, Textiles Colloquial An unfashionably short length of a pair of trousers.
- I looked around. Ari in a green jacket with four inches of fore arm showing and trousers at half mast, Penny and I in mismatched padded jackets and ski trousers which were way too long; and all wearing the silver moon boots that had been the rage in the early eighties.2016, Jeff Payne, Rider (page 142)
4
Euphemistic The state of having a partially erect penis.
- Finally, he was at half-mast, hanging out over the toilet seat, barely erect.2009, Stephen Cannell, At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession, Vanguard Press, →ISBN, page 227: