mid

¹ American  

[mid] / mɪd /

adjective

1. being at or near the middle point of.

   We visited in mid autumn to catch the leaves at their best.

   The group was active in the mid 1890s.

2. being or occupying a middle place or position.

   These socks hit at the mid calf, making them good for wearing with boots.

   The bark mid trunk has been eaten away by insects.

3. Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with an opening above the tongue relatively intermediate between those for high and low: the vowels of beet, bet, and bot are respectively high, mid, and low.

4. Slang. mediocre, unimpressive, or disappointing.

   Everyone thinks that show is so great, but I've always thought it was mid.

   The shoes are really mid but the shirt is cute.

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noun

1. Archaic. the middle.

mid ² American  

[mid] / mɪd /

Or 'mid

preposition

1. amid.

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mid ³ American  

[mid] / mɪd /

noun

Informal.

1. a midshipman.

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mid- ⁴ American  

1. a combining form representing mid1 in compound words.

   midday; mid-Victorian.

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mid. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. middle.

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Mid. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. Midshipman.

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M.I.D. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. Master of Industrial Design.

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mid ¹ British  

/ mɪd /

adjective

1. phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a vowel whose articulation lies approximately halfway between high and low, such as e in English bet

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noun

1. an archaic word for middle

Mid. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Midshipman

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mid ³ British  

/ mɪd /

preposition

1. a poetic word for amid

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mid. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. middle

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mid- ⁵ British  

combining form

1. indicating a middle part, point, time, or position

   midday

   mid-April

   mid-Victorian

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Etymology

Origin of mid¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English midd- (both an adjective and the initial element of a compound; modern spellings such as mid autumn are probably a reanalysis of the combining form mid- as an adjective); cognate with Old High German mitti, Old Norse mithr, Gothic midjis; akin to Greek mésos, méssos, méttos, Latin medius, Old Church Slavonic mežda “limit, border,” Old Irish mide, Sanskrit madhya “middle”; mid-

Origin of mid³

By shortening

Origin of mid-⁴

Middle English, Old English; mid ¹

Example Sentences

Tzruya “Suki” Lahav, a violinist and poet who played with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in the mid 1970’s on some of the band’s most beloved LPs, has died.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Now 42 years old, his annual salary is in the mid six figures.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Look for the stock to travel toward $650 in mid 2026, a 12% gain from current prices.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

A young Iberian lynx caught mid play has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award 2026.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

By mid November the foundation hole for the apse and choir had been completely excavated.

From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay

Related Words

• average
• boring
• dull
• mediocre
• middling