midterm

American  

[mid-turm] / ˈmɪdˌtɜrm /

noun

midterms plural

1. the middle or halfway point of a term, as a school term or term of office.

2. Informal. Often midterms. an examination or series of examinations at the middle of a school term.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or occurring on or about the middle of a term, as a school term or term of office.

   a midterm recess; midterm elections.

midterm British  

/ ˈmɪdˈtɜːm /

noun

1. 1. the middle of a term in a school, university, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      midterm exam

2. politics

   1. the middle of a term of office, esp of a presidential term, when congressional and local elections are held

   2. ( as modifier )

      midterm elections

3. 1. the middle of the gestation period

   2. ( as modifier ) See term

      midterm checkup

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• midterms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of midterm

First recorded in 1865–70; mid- + term

Explanation

Midterm is the exact middle of a semester or of a politician's time in office. A midterm exam is given near the halfway point of the academic term. A school year is typically divided into semesters, trimesters, or quarters, and each of these can be called a term. Likewise, a president, governor, or representative serves a specific length of time that is called a term, whether it lasts one year, two years, or six years. The middle of a term, therefore, is a midterm, from mid-, from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "middle," and term, from the Old French terme, "duration."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

midterm midterms

On the other hand, the stock market is extremely overvalued, and, year-to-date, it has already far exceeded the average return for midterm election years.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

“The circumstances are different between the two states,” said David Farmer, a Maine-based Democratic strategist, “but it’s certainly shaping up to be a strange midterm election with enormous stakes for the country.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

Meantime, states and counties are busy with the actual work of making the midterm elections happen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

And with midterm elections approaching, analysts expect that calmer tone to continue.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

She was an English major at Mount Sebastian, and she wrote beautifully about her professors and roommates and midterm exams, about her respect for Chaucer and her great affection for Virginia Woolf.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

The president and his party need a midterms message that “real economic change” is coming, said Brian Reisinger, a rural policy analyst in Wisconsin and a former GOP strategist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026

The Republican Conference had been decimated in the 1958 midterms to a mere 35 senators, a figure that diminished further in the 1960s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

With the 2026 midterms less than six months away, the Election Security Group would normally be busy helping prepare the nation’s election infrastructure.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

Thomas Massie, the independent-minded congressman from Kentucky, was comfortably defeated on Tuesday in the Republican primary race to decide who goes forward to take on the Democrats in November's midterms.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself--especially around midterms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer--but I didn't do it.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger