midcourse

[mid-kawrs]

noun

1. the middle of a course, course of events, or course of action.

   Congress has already had cause to complain of the court's changing its interpretative rules in midcourse.

2. Rocketry.,  the portion of a ballistic trajectory between the end of powered flight and the beginning of the reentry phase.

3. Aerospace.,  the portion of a space trajectory between leaving the earth's vicinity and arrival at the desired destination, as another planet.

adjective

1. happening or done at some point during the journey of a ship, airplane, missile, or spacecraft.

   When the midcourse maneuver was attempted, one engine failed to ignite and caused the space vehicle to tumble.

2. happening or done in the middle of a course, course of events, or course of action.

   The company is conducting a rigorous midcourse assessment of the process itself.

Word History and Origins

Origin of midcourse¹

First recorded in 1555–65; mid- + course

Example Sentences

Based on these changed facts, a midcourse correction is required — a different and tougher approach.

Read more on Washington Times

“It’s not unusual for a campaign to have a midcourse adjustment and that’s what you’ll be seeing here with Rob’s departure and with readjustments that we’ll make in the campaign staff.”

Read more on Seattle Times

Such systems, which consist of ground-based interceptor missiles and a huge array of radars and fire control systems, aim to bring down ballistic missiles, including ICBMs carrying nuclear or other warheads, while they are flying in space midcourse on the way to their targets.

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It represents a midcourse adjustment on the signature achievement of President Biden’s administration, with a goal of speeding up assistance to local governments that lack the staffing and know-how to apply for $55 billion in funding for water projects tucked into the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which passed in November.

Read more on New York Times

The ministry said in a brief statement late on Sunday that the "ground-based midcourse anti-missile intercept technology" test had been carried out that night.

Read more on Reuters