Also called middle plane. Also called middle ground. Fine Arts. the represented space between the foreground and background in paintings, drawings, etc.
(in track) a race distance ranging from 400 meters or 440 yards to 1 mile.
First recorded in 1805–15
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To the left and right, a dense forest frames the scene, while farther off, in the middle distance, a few lonely plantations and houses can barely be made out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Norris clung to Verstappen like a limpet and then overtook him with imperious ease before the first pit stops, cruising off into the middle distance thereafter.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2024
After hearing the bad news, Mr. Hill walks in a daze on the ship’s deck, eyes lost in the middle distance, the official regalia of his captain’s outfit rendered absurd.
From New York Times ● May 5, 2024
He stared into the middle distance and scrolled through his phone.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
His eyes had a wide-open, staring look, as though he could not prevent himself from gazing at something in the middle distance.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Back under the guidance of her former coach Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, herself a world 800m medallist, Hunter Bell has rapidly established herself among the world's best middle-distance runners.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2025
In fact, several forces that were at work when Nuguse and Ingebrigtsen raced have been electrifying all of middle-distance running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2025
This generation of milers is also supremely talented, of course, forming a new golden age of middle-distance running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2025
Lord Sebastian Coe, 67, Great Britain – Renowned middle-distance runner who became a Conservative MP and later chaired organising committee of London 2012 Olympics and headed British Olympic Association.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024
Across the picture, of which Vance and the luncheon-table form the foreground, and the garden with Mrs. Joyce and the young ladies the middle-distance and background, there flits from time to time an unquiet figure.
From Hide and Seek by Collins, Wilkie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
