middle distance

noun

1. Also called middle plane. Also called middle ground. Fine Arts.,  the represented space between the foreground and background in paintings, drawings, etc.

2. (in track) a race distance ranging from 400 meters or 440 yards to 1 mile.

middle-distance

adjective

1. athletics relating to or denoting races of a length between the sprints and the distance events, esp the 800 metres and the 1500 metres

noun

1. Also called: middle ground. part of a painting, esp a landscape between the foreground and far distance

Word History and Origins

Origin of middle-distance¹

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

More runners in the middle distances are using a supplement whose main ingredient is sodium bicarbonate—household baking soda.

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Through the windows, huge grey clouds rose in the middle distance.

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The South African middle distance runner believes World Athletics has shown discrimination against athletes with DSD by insisting they reduce testosterone levels in order to be eligible.

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Everything else resides in a permanently fuzzy, unsettled background, a constant middle distance that traps the characters in their spiritual purgatory.

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Often shown on-screen in the middle distance or the background, her expressions always muted, Nina drifts through this slow-burn crisis without any palpable urgency or alarm.

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