How to Use half-staff in a Sentence

half-staff

noun
  • Why do flags fly at half-staff?
    — Jenny Porter Tilley, IndyStar, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Where will flags be at half-staff?
    — Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Why are flags flown at half-staff?
    — Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Sep. 2025
  • When are flags flown at half-staff?
    — Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 23 Feb. 2026
  • How long will flags be at half-staff?
    — Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • How long will flags be at half-staff in Iowa?
    — Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Why are flags at half-staff today?
    — Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Elsewhere ashore, flags are flown at half-staff.
    — Joyce Orlando, Nashville Tennessean, 28 Aug. 2025
  • When have flags been flown at half-staff before?
    — James Powel, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Flags in the country will be flown at half-staff for five days.
    — Jared Gans, The Hill, 2 Jan. 2026
  • When are flags flown at half-staff in the US?
    — Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 25 May 2026
  • Flags across the state of Kansas flew at half-staff.
    — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025
  • The term half-staff is used for flags on land, while half-mast refers to flags on ships.
    — Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 7 Dec. 2025
  • Half-mast refers to flags flown on ships, while half-staff is used for flags flown on land.
    — Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 7 Dec. 2024
  • The flag was half-staff at the state Capitol building.
    — Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • How long will flags be at half-staff in Wisconsin?
    — Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 17 Nov. 2025
  • When and why does the American flag fly at half-staff?
    — Darleene Powells, Boston Herald, 10 June 2026
  • In Dauphin, where most of the bus riders are from, flags were flown at half-staff.
    — Rob Gillies, ajc, 16 June 2023
  • Where will flags be at half-staff in Wisconsin?
    — Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 17 Nov. 2025
  • What is flag protocol for raising a flag half-mast or half-staff?
    — Chris Sims, The Courier-Journal, 14 May 2024
  • The president ordered all flags flown at half-staff for a week.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The college’s flag will be flown at half-staff this week in his memory.
    — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2023
  • Several states flew flags at half-staff in his honor.
    — Sophia Tareen, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Flags will be flown at half-staff across the state this week to honor the lives lost in the attack.
    — CBS News, 30 Dec. 2025
  • Where are flags half-staff in Wisconsin?
    — Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • What is the difference between half-mast and half-staff?
    — Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 25 May 2026
  • What is the difference between half-staff and half-mast?
    — Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Thoughts and prayers and flags ordered to be hung at half-staff, none of which is doing a damned thing.
    — Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Trump has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until Sunday.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2025
  • White House flags were flown at half-staff on the day of Kirk's killing in his honor.
    — John Toher, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'half-staff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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