halo

noun

1. A circular band of coloured light, visible around the sun or moon etc., caused by reflection and refraction of light by ice crystals in the atmosphere.
2. A cloud of gas and other matter surrounding and captured by the gravitational field of a large diffuse astronomical object, such as a galaxy or cluster of galaxies.
3. Anything resembling this band, such as an effect caused by imperfect developing of photographs.
4. nimbus, a luminous disc, often of gold, around or over the heads of saints, etc., in religious paintings.
5. The metaphorical aura of glory, veneration or sentiment which surrounds an idealized entity.

   “her halo slipped”

   “O! yearning heart! I did inherit Thy withering portion with the fame, The searing glory which hath shone Amid the jewels of my throne, Halo of Hell!”

6. The bias caused by the halo effect.

   “In both cases, they found that […] there was a halo effect (e.g., when a "low cholesterol" claim was made, consumers perceived other nutrients, such as fat, also to be at low levels when they were actually high). Andrews reported that these misleading halos were reduced only when the claims were accompanied by an evaluative disclosure […]”

7. a circular annulus ring, frequently luminous, often golden, floating above the head
8. A circular brace used to keep the head and neck in position.
9. A roll bar placed in front of the driver, used to protect the cockpit of an open cockpit racecar.
10. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of halo headlight.
11. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable)Acronym of high altitude, low opening (“a type of skydiving where one leaves the launch platform from a high altitude and opens the parachute at a very low altitude”).

    “When you have enough experience, you can do a HALO jump.”

12. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable)Acronym of hazardous area life-support organization.
13. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable)Acronym of high altitude, low orbiting.

    “Weather balloons at maximum altitude are considered HALOs.”

14. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable)Acronym of heavy assets, low obsolescence (“AI-resistant stocks”).

    “Call it the AI immunity trade, HALO—for “heavy assets, low obsolescence”—or just another iteration of the jitters that have periodically rippled through markets since the AI investing boom began. […] Not everyone is convinced the HALO hype will stick around.”

15. (countable, informal, uncountable)A member of the Angels Major League Baseball team.
16. (alt-of, countable, uncountable)Alternative letter-case form of HALO.

    “While US mega-cap tech companies have had a rough start to 2026, the Halo trade helped to push UK and EU stock markets to record levels by the end of February. […] Goldman defined Halo businesses as ones which pair substantial physical capital (where barriers to replication include cost, regulation, time to build or engineering complexity) with long-lived economic relevance.”

verb

1. (transitive)To encircle with a halo.