midst

¹

[ midst ]

noun

1. the position of anything surrounded by other things or parts, or occurring in the middle of a period of time, course of action, etc.:

   a familiar face in the midst of the crowd;

   in the midst of the performance.

   Synonyms: heart, core, thick

   Antonyms: periphery, edge

2. the middle point, part, or stage:

   We arrived in the midst of a storm.

   Synonyms: heart, core, thick

   Antonyms: periphery, edge

midst

²

[ midst ]

preposition

1. amidst.

midst

¹

/ mɪdst /

preposition

1. poetic.
   See amid

midst

²

/ mɪdst /

noun

1. in the midst of
   surrounded or enveloped by; at a point during, esp a climactic one
2. in our midst
   among us
3. archaic.
   the centre

Word History and Origins

Origin of midst¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, equivalent to middes (aphetic variant of amiddes “in the middle”) + excrescent -t; amidst

Word History and Origins

Origin of midst¹

C14: back formation from amiddes amid

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in our / your / their midst, in the midst of or among us (you, them):

   To think there was a spy in our midst!

Synonym Study

See middle.

Example Sentences

Instead, in the midst of the worst health crisis in more than a century, we are experiencing even deadlier roadways.

From Washington Post

Albert Einstein said, “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”

From Quartz

The kids were really upset, and there was some looting that was happening in the midst of the marches, and the mayor of Atlanta reached out, wanting Baby to come speak out to tell the kids to calm down.

From Time

In the midst of emerging multistate lawsuits targeting big tech companies, the FTC announced its own antitrust case against Facebook late last year, pushing for the company to be broken up.

From TechCrunch

They just felt they were in the midst of something novel and important.

From Washington Post

In the midst of this religious and political turmoil, drug trafficking thrives.

From The Daily Beast

In the midst of the clubbiness, there is a heimishe (Yiddish for familiar, old school) quality.

From The Daily Beast

In their midst stands a soldier with the Lebanese armed forces in a red beret, sporting an assault rifle and an unblinking stare.

From The Daily Beast

In the midst of “literally” shutting down the offices, Kroll talked to The Daily Beast about the final season.

From The Daily Beast

One would be in the midst of a lot of actors, and besides, they're really only good for impressing shopgirls.

From The Daily Beast

We were in the midst of it, and having a merry time, when the door suddenly opened and Liszt appeared.

From Project Gutenberg

Above all, he was amazed to hear me talk of a mercenary standing army in the midst of peace and among a free people.

From Project Gutenberg

His soul was tossed on the billows of a tempestuous ocean, in the midst of which he saw his father perishing.

From Project Gutenberg

In the midst of accumulated wealth social justice seems as far away as ever.

From Project Gutenberg

The building, a mosque-like structure of considerable size, was situated in the midst of a grove of mango trees.

From Project Gutenberg