midterm

[ mid-turm ]

noun

1. the middle or halfway point of a term, as a school term or term of office.
2. Often midterms. Informal. an examination or series of examinations at the middle of a school term.

adjective

1. pertaining to or occurring on or about the middle of a term, as a school term or term of office:

   a midterm recess; midterm elections.

midterm

/ ˈmɪdˈtɜːm /

noun

1. 1. the middle of a term in a school, university, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      midterm exam

2. politics
   1. the middle of a term of office, esp of a presidential term, when congressional and local elections are held
   2. ( as modifier )

      midterm elections

3. 1. the middle of the gestation period
   2. ( as modifier ) See term

      midterm checkup

Word History and Origins

Origin of midterm¹

First recorded in 1865–70; mid- + term

Example Sentences

The only recent example of the president’s party gaining House seats in a midterm election came in 2002, after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

From Washington Post

It has been longer, 42 years, since a Democratic president escaped his first midterm election without losing control of Congress.

From Washington Post

With the 2022 midterms on the horizon, Democrats want to replicate their success in other states — particularly North Carolina, another Southern Sunbelt state with an open Senate seat in the next midterm cycle.

From Vox

For all that said, the tendency of the opposition party to regain ground at the midterms is very strong.

From FiveThirtyEight

For instance, the GOP agenda in 2017 and 2018, trying to repeal Obamacare and cut taxes for corporations, was fairly unpopular with Republican voters, but those voters still overwhelmingly backed GOP candidates in the 2018 midterms.

From FiveThirtyEight

The 2014 midterm elections are just months behind us, but already Flake feels the pressure of the 2016 presidential elections.

From The Daily Beast

Why else would $4 billion have been spent on the midterm election?

From The Daily Beast

With the midterm elections safely in the rearview mirror, Obama is on legacy patrol.

From The Daily Beast

In 1994 and in 2010 the GOP turned in strong midterm performances, and then saw Clinton and Obama win reelection.

From The Daily Beast

They have one big problem: Republican midterm gains had more to do with a sagging Democrat brand than an attractive GOP platform.

From The Daily Beast

It had taken him until his senior midterm vacation to wangle an invitation to the dome-house on Luna.

From Project Gutenberg