half the proportion

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "half the proportion" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a specific fraction or ratio of a larger quantity, often in statistical or analytical contexts. Example: "In the recent survey, half the proportion of respondents indicated that they preferred online shopping over in-store shopping."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

57 human-written examples

The next year, the proportion of black students admitted in the freshman class fell by half; the proportion of Hispanics fell by nearly a third.

The New York Times

The survey also found that the 500 highest-achieving comprehensives have half the proportion of pupils on free school meals as the national average.

The Guardian

Yet even when older women do break bones, as half of those over age 50 eventually will (yes, half), the proportion who get tested for osteoporosis still remains very low despite the big red flag.

The New York Times

These results adjust for the expected rock-bottom turnout in the ballots for Brussels – just 27% of respondents said they were certain to vote, just half the proportion for Westminster – and differ considerably from the headline results, in the regular Guardian/ICM question about general election voting intentions.

The Guardian

Clacton-on-Sea was one of four towns studied by the Centre for Social Justice, which reported that forty-one per cent of its adult population had no academic or professional qualifications, half the proportion nationwide, while the median household income is more than forty per cent lower than the national average.

The New Yorker

It introduced for the first time in U.S. law one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, requiring that the United States do its part to reduce, by half, the proportion of the population living without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Duke University

Sanitation falls under Millenium Development Goal 7, and aims to "reduce by half, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation" by 2015.

Huffington Post

The Monitoring the Future survey of US students found in 2015 that only 1.6percentt of high school seniors had used ketamine in the past year, almost half the proportion compared to 2002, when the drug was more prevalent on the American clubbing scene.

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

3 human-written examples

Over the past decade-and-a-half, the proportion of non-military to military aid has fallen almost continuously.

BBC

The data seem to suggest that Harvard has an Asian quota of about 20% of its students, less than one-half the proportion attending Cal Tech, a school that bases admission almost exclusively on academic criteria.

Forbes

Its goal: to reduce in the span of 25 years (from 1990 to 2015)–by one-half the proportion of people worldwide who live on less than $1 per day.

Forbes

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "half the proportion", ensure you clearly define what the "proportion" refers to. Provide context so your readers understand the base quantity from which you are taking half.

Common error

Avoid using "half the proportion" without specifying what constitutes the whole proportion. For instance, instead of saying "half the proportion improved", specify "half the proportion of patients improved" to prevent ambiguity.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "half the proportion" functions as a quantitative descriptor, modifying a noun (often people, items, or measurements). It is commonly used to indicate a reduction or comparison in numerical terms. As supported by Ludwig, the phrase is grammatically correct and widely used in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

38%

Science

32%

Formal & Business

30%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "half the proportion" is a grammatically sound and widely used expression to indicate a reduction or comparison of quantities. It’s prevalent in news, scientific, and business contexts, serving to quantify proportions and highlight changes or targets. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness and offers numerous examples demonstrating its versatile application across diverse domains. When using this phrase, ensure clear definition of the base proportion to avoid ambiguity. While alternatives like "fifty percent of the proportion" exist, "half the proportion" remains a concise and effective choice in formal and neutral registers.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

fifty percent of the proportion

Uses a percentage instead of a fraction to express the same quantity.

half the ratio

Replaces "proportion" with "ratio", maintaining a similar mathematical context.

one half of the proportion

Adds "one" for emphasis, without changing the meaning.

50% of the ratio

Combines percentage and ratio for quantitative expression.

a moiety of the proportion

Uses a less common term, "moiety", for half, adding a formal tone.

a half share of the proportion

Substitutes "share" for "proportion", indicating a part of the total.

a half fraction of the proportion

Replaces ratio with a fraction.

diminished by fifty percent

Focuses on the action of reducing by half, rather than the quantity itself.

reduced by half the amount

Highlights the reduction in amount compared to the initial value.

halve the rate

Focuses on the change in a rate

FAQs

How can I use "half the proportion" in a sentence?

You can use "half the proportion" to describe a reduction or comparison of quantities. For example, "The goal is to reduce by "half the proportion" of people living in poverty."

What's a good alternative to "half the proportion"?

Depending on the context, you could use phrases like "fifty percent of the proportion", "half the ratio", or "one half of the proportion".

Is it better to say "half the proportion" or "50% of the proportion"?

Both phrases are correct, but ""half the proportion"" might be preferred in more formal writing, while "50% of the proportion" is more common in general usage.

What does "half the proportion" actually mean?

"Half the proportion" means reducing a specific ratio or fraction by 50%. For example, if a group aims to reduce the proportion of something, they intend to lower that specific group's share to "half the proportion", such as reducing the proportion of hungry people.