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.

---

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 )

---

adverb

1. informal moderately

   middling well

middling Idioms  

1. see fair to middling.

---

Other Word Forms

• middlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of middling

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English (north) medlinge (present participle) “coming between, middle”; 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

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

But then, what does such recognition mean in an industry where original storytelling and concepts are diminished or obscured by mountains of middling?

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

Colonel Parker, Elvis’s manager, kept his cash cow on a leash, tethering him first to middling B-pictures, then to casinos.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

January 2026 has seen a somewhat middling window.

From BBC • Feb. 1, 2026

They were men of middling birth, by and large; merchants' sons, lesser lordlings, sometimes even foreigners, but judging from their results, far more able than their highborn predecessors.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

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