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.

---

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

---

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

Party members anticipate presidential contenders will start to emerge after the midterm elections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The United States will vote in midterm elections later this year.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 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

In September of a midterm year, in contrast, the Dow lost more than twice as much — an average of 1.9%.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

In February, the professor announced that instead of a single midterm he would be giving monthly exams, the first of which would be the following week.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Now, in these midterms, no fewer than seven white clergy or ministers-in-training representing the Democratic Party are vying for congressional seats.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

Over the last few months, Walker has been eager to get back on air, especially with the local primary elections this month and the coming midterms in November.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 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

Between juggling part-time jobs and studying for midterms, they could barely keep afloat.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers