Half-orcs were servants of Saruman, used by him as spies and soldiers during the War of the Ring. Although as tall as Men, they were sallow-faced and squint-eyed.

They were seemingly the product of a cross between Men and Orcs. There may have been other types of Half-orcs, such as Goblin-men.

Half-orcs is a term that was not used in The Lord of the Rings and it seems fairly certain that they were not the same as the Uruk-hai.