This is the 4408th most frequent German word.
halt
"halt" in German means "stop" or "hold," and can also mean "just" or "simply" in colloquial usage depending on context.
Here, 'halt' is used to express resignation or to underscore the inevitability of the fact stated.
Manchmal ist das Leben halt so.
Sometimes life is just like that.
In this sentence, 'halte' is the imperative form of 'halten', meaning 'to stop' or 'to hold'.
Halte bitte an dieser Haltestelle.
Please stop at this stop.
The word 'hielt' is the past tense of 'halten', referring to the action of holding something.