middling

American  

[mid-ling] / ˈmɪd lɪŋ /

adjective

1. medium, moderate, or average in size, quantity, or quality.

   The returns on such a large investment may be only middling.

2. mediocre; ordinary; commonplace; pedestrian.

   The restaurant's entrées are no better than middling.

3. Older Use. in fairly good health.

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adverb

1. moderately; fairly.

noun

1. middlings, any of various products or commodities of intermediate quality, grade, size, etc., as the coarser particles of ground wheat mingled with bran.

2. Also called middling meat.  Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. Often middlings salt pork or smoked side meat.

middling British  

/ ˈmɪdlɪŋ /

adjective

1. mediocre in quality, size, etc; neither good nor bad, esp in health (often in the phrase fair to middling )

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adverb

1. informal moderately

   middling well

middling Idioms  

1. see fair to middling.

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Other Word Forms

• middlingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of middling

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English (north) medlinge (present participle) “coming between, middle”; see also mid ¹, -ling ²

Explanation

If something is middling, it isn't terrible and it isn't great — it's mediocre. You might describe your chances of beating your dad at tennis as middling. You'll frequently find this adjective in the phrase "fair to middling," or sometimes "good to middling." This American colloquialism has been used since the early 17th century to mean "slightly above average," and it originally referred to the quality of farm goods. Today you can use it to rate or grade anything, so you might say, "I thought this peach would be juicy and perfectly ripe, but it's fair to middling."

Example Sentences

Yuval Raphael, who received middling points from the competition's judges, outperformed every other participant when it came to the public vote.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

Corning shares fell after a middling second-quarter sales outlook overshadowed better-than-expected first-quarter results.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

New York City, the country’s largest job market, had the highest scores for quality of life, but middling results for early career opportunities — and low housing affordability, Martin said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

Despite a middling September — the Padres went 14-11 in the final month of the season — the club finished only three games back of the Dodgers.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

I knowed it waren’t right, but it didn’t seem like it was wrong neither, it was kind of middling twixt the two.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Related Words

• mediocre
• passable
• run-of-the-mill
• so-so