2
: being at neither extreme : intermediate
3
capitalized
a
: constituting a division intermediate between those prior and later or upper and lower
Middle Paleozoic
b
: constituting a period of a language or literature intermediate between one called Old and one called New or Modern
Middle Dutch
4
of a verb form or voice
: typically asserting that a person or thing both performs and is affected by the action represented
1
: a middle part, point, or position
2
: the central portion of the human body : waist
3
: the position of being among or in the midst of something
in the middle of the crowd
4
: something intermediate between extremes : mean
5
: the center of an offensive or defensive formation
especially
: the area between the second baseman and the shortstop
Synonyms
Examples of middle in a Sentence
Adjective
during the century's middle decades
High temperatures today should be in the middle 80s.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's middle initial stood for “Delano.”
Noun
A good essay will have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
He stood exactly in the middle of the room.
She opened the book to the middle and began to read.
The car stopped in the middle of the road.
The house should be finished by the middle of next summer.
The beginning and ending of the movie were good, but the middle was pretty boring.
She put her arms around his middle.
He tied the sash around his middle.
Recent Examples on the Web
Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024
Air Force and New Mexico fall into a middle tier, in our view.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Now, the only infield starter without an error is second baseman Gavin Lux — who, ironically, was the biggest defensive question mark in spring training, leading to a switch between him and Betts at the two middle infield positions.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
The Panthers added two goals in a 1:44 stretch of the middle period to double the lead.
—Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
Now, middle child Mason is the first to become an actor like his dad, having starred in notable films like Booksmart and Scream 5.
—Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
The Royals utilized him to start games, in middle relief and high-leverage scenarios.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024
The three middle schoolers were identified as 13-year-old students at Plum Point Middle School in Calvert County, about 50 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.
—USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
As of Friday Hansen was leading in four lower income precincts, three middle income precincts and 16 higher income precincts.
—Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
The department said the woman was standing in the middle of the street when the driver of an Infiniti G37 struck her and others before fleeing.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
The news comes in the middle of the 1975’s European tour, with Swift and Healy last seen together on May 25.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024
Dangerous leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz hit a soft liner back up the middle.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 18 Apr. 2024
The Athletics broke through against Williams in the fifth, with Butler hitting a double off the top of the fence in right and scoring on a single up up the middle by Shea Langeliers.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
In sunny South Australia, solar power now routinely supplies all or nearly all of the power needed during the middle of the day.
—Benjamin Kroposki, IEEE Spectrum, 13 Apr. 2024
Chisholm scored on an Emmanuel Rivera RBI single up the middle to break up the Braves’ shutout bid.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
By the middle of the war, in July 2021, the international Famine Review Committee found that without a cease-fire and immediate large-scale aid, Tigray would descend into famine.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Brick and mortar buildings, middle men in distribution.
—Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024
Air Force and New Mexico fall into a middle tier, in our view.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Now, the only infield starter without an error is second baseman Gavin Lux — who, ironically, was the biggest defensive question mark in spring training, leading to a switch between him and Betts at the two middle infield positions.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
The Panthers added two goals in a 1:44 stretch of the middle period to double the lead.
—Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
Now, middle child Mason is the first to become an actor like his dad, having starred in notable films like Booksmart and Scream 5.
—Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
The Royals utilized him to start games, in middle relief and high-leverage scenarios.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024
The three middle schoolers were identified as 13-year-old students at Plum Point Middle School in Calvert County, about 50 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.
—USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
As of Friday Hansen was leading in four lower income precincts, three middle income precincts and 16 higher income precincts.
—Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024
Noun
Polk is big and tough enough with strong hands to work over the middle, but features great body control and enough speed to win deep as well.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
The department said the woman was standing in the middle of the street when the driver of an Infiniti G37 struck her and others before fleeing.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
The news comes in the middle of the 1975’s European tour, with Swift and Healy last seen together on May 25.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024
Dangerous leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz hit a soft liner back up the middle.
—Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 18 Apr. 2024
The Athletics broke through against Williams in the fifth, with Butler hitting a double off the top of the fence in right and scoring on a single up up the middle by Shea Langeliers.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
In sunny South Australia, solar power now routinely supplies all or nearly all of the power needed during the middle of the day.
—Benjamin Kroposki, IEEE Spectrum, 13 Apr. 2024
Chisholm scored on an Emmanuel Rivera RBI single up the middle to break up the Braves’ shutout bid.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
By the middle of the war, in July 2021, the international Famine Review Committee found that without a cease-fire and immediate large-scale aid, Tigray would descend into famine.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'middle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near middle
Cite this Entry
“Middle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
middle
1 of 2 adjective
mid·dle
ˈmid-ᵊl 
1
: equally distant from the ends or sides
2
: being at neither extreme : intermediate
of middle size
3
capitalized
: constituting an intermediate division or period
Middle Paleozoic
middle
2 of 2 noun1
: a middle part, point, or position : center
2
3
: the position of being among or in the midst of something
in the middle of the crowd
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