Also called middle plane. Also called middle ground. Fine Arts. the represented space between the foreground and background in paintings, drawings, etc.
(in track) a race distance ranging from 400 meters or 440 yards to 1 mile.
First recorded in 1805–15
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To the left and right, a dense forest frames the scene, while farther off, in the middle distance, a few lonely plantations and houses can barely be made out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
These were visible signs that 'The Real Deal' was making a dent - his speed was hugely effective as he was first to land when they were at middle distance.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025
“To see this entire world, do this literally: Mold the play into a medium-sized ball, set it before you in the middle distance, and squint your eyes,” she wrote.
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
He stared into the middle distance and scrolled through his phone.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
Flanking John Becker were more female faces—brown faces, peering out from the middle distance.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Gjert had no background in athletics, but the former logistics manager poured himself into constructing a gruelling high-mileage programme to turn his seven children into a family band of elite middle-distance contenders.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025
In fact, several forces that were at work when Nuguse and Ingebrigtsen raced have been electrifying all of middle-distance running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2025
This generation of milers is also supremely talented, of course, forming a new golden age of middle-distance running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2025
Great Britain middle-distance runner Josh Kerr responds to quick-fire questions on food, nicknames and his gold medal-winning ambitions.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2024
The building on the extreme left is the round-house, in which Mr. MacWilliams stores his three locomotive engines, and in the far middle-distance is Mr. MacWilliams himself in the act of repairing a water-tank.
From Soldiers of Fortune by Davis, Richard Harding
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.
