golden mean
Americannoun
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the perfect moderate course or position that avoids extremes; the happy medium.
noun
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the middle course between extremes
-
another term for golden section
Etymology
Origin of golden mean
First recorded in 1580–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
‘A golden mean exists between security and deprivation.’
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025
In this way, the virtuous action will be the golden mean, neither too much nor too little.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
And yet, she still recommends Aristotle's "golden mean," which she summarizes as "the right emotion or the right action for the right context in the right amount."
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2022
Others hope to strike a golden mean between full ripeness and not so much.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2016
It is the job of your real-estate agent, of course, to find the golden mean.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
