middle

[ mid-l ]

/ ˈmɪd l /

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adjective

equally distant from the extremes or outer limits; central: the middle point of a line; the middle singer in a trio.

intermediate or intervening: the middle distance.

medium or average: a man of middle size.

(initial capital letter) (in the history of a language) intermediate between periods classified as Old and New or Modern: Middle English.

Grammar. (in some languages) noting a voice of verb inflection in which the subject is represented as acting on or for itself, in contrast to the active voice in which the subject acts, and the passive voice in which the subject is acted upon, as in Greek, egrapsámēn “I wrote for myself,” égrapsa “I wrote,” egráphēn “I was written.”

(often initial capital letter) Stratigraphy. noting the division intermediate between the upper and lower divisions of a period, system, or the like: the Middle Devonian.

noun

the point, part, position, etc., equidistant from extremes or limits.

the central part of the human body, especially the waist: He gave him a punch in the middle.

something intermediate; mean.

(in farming) the ground between two rows of plants.

verb (used with or without object), mid·dled, mid·dling.

Chiefly Nautical. to fold in half.

Nearby words

middelburg, middelmannetjie, middelskot, midden, middie, middle, middle age, middle ages, middle america, middle american, middle artery of knee

Origin of middle

before 900; Middle English, Old English middel; cognate with German mittel; akin to Old Norse methal among. See mid¹

SYNONYMS FOR middle

1 equidistant, halfway, medial, midway.

7 midpoint. Middle, center, midst indicate something from which two or more other things are (approximately or exactly) equally distant. Middle denotes, literally or figuratively, the point or part equidistant from or intermediate between extremes or limits in space or in time: the middle of a road. Center, a more precise word, is ordinarily applied to a point within circular, globular, or regular bodies, or wherever a similar exactness appears to exist: the center of the earth; it may also be used metaphorically (still suggesting the core of a sphere): center of interest. Midst usually suggests that a person or thing is closely surrounded or encompassed on all sides, especially by that which is thick or dense: the midst of a storm.

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ANTONYMS FOR middle

1 extreme.

7 extremity.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for middle

According to Pew, 14 of the 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa have blasphemy laws.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the middle of all of that past suffering and present-day conflict, this Cosby bomb was dropped.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And, especially when it comes to the middle, personality counts.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee|Sally Kohn|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The same picture emerges from middle class men in the U.S., Canada, and the Nordic countries.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Since then, the rising gap between the rich and middle- and lower-income families has risen to the fore.
Christie Blames Parents for Bad Economy|Monica Potts|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It has a wide and large hood reaching down almost to the middle of the body.
The Central Eskimo|Franz Boas
I am the beginning and the middle and the end of existing things.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 17, No. 97, January, 1876|Various
The valley becomes broader, and the ice strip of the Sele-nang winds along the middle.
Trans-Himalaya, Vol. 1 (of 2)|Sven Hedin
By not beginning your absence till about the middle of this month I think you may manage it very well.
The Letters of Jane Austen|Jane Austen
They had almost reached the middle of it when Jack looked down.
Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories|Various

British Dictionary definitions for middle

middle

/ (ˈmɪdəl) /

adjective

equally distant from the ends or periphery of something; central

intermediate in status, situation, etc

located between the early and late parts of a series, time sequence, etc

not extreme, esp in size; medium

(esp in Greek and Sanskrit grammar) denoting a voice of verbs expressing reciprocal or reflexive actionCompare active (def. 5), passive (def. 5)

(usually capital) (of a language) intermediate between the earliest and the modern formsMiddle English

noun

an area or point equal in distance from the ends or periphery or in time between the early and late parts

an intermediate part or section, such as the waist

grammar the middle voice

logic See middle term

the ground between rows of growing plants

a discursive article in a journal, placed between the leading articles and the book reviews

cricket a position on the batting creases in alignment with the middle stumps on which a batsman may take guard

verb (tr)

to place in the middle

nautical to fold in two

football to return (the ball) from the wing to midfield

cricket to hit (the ball) with the middle of the bat

Word Origin for middle

Old English middel; compare Old Frisian middel, Dutch middel, German mittel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with middle

middle

see caught in the middle; in the middle of; play both ends against the middle.