1
: of middle, medium, or moderate size, degree, or quality
2
3
: of, relating to, or being a middle class
middling
adverb
1
: any of various commodities of intermediate size, quality, or position
2
middlings plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: a granular product of grain milling
especially
: a wheat milling by-product used in animal feeds
Synonyms
Examples of middling in a Sentence
Adjective
tired of the city but not particularly interested in small-town life, he moved to a suburb of middling size
was disappointed in the renowned historian's latest book, which is only middling
Recent Examples on the Web
Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
By the time Taylor-Johnson came aboard with her husband in the lead role, Frey had long since apologized and the literary furor had died down, but so had most of the interest in the film, which received a modest independent release and middling reviews.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
The observations favor the erosion of dark energy with the sort of middling statistical significance that could easily vanish with additional data.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
However, middling battery life, an average screen, and a cramped keyboard put the Commercial 14 behind the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 for our favorite entry-level business laptop.
—PCMAG, 27 Mar. 2024
Over the past few years the U.S. has struggled with middling productivity growth.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024
His younger brother, Tommie, hit .229 with 13 homers across seven middling big-league seasons.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Biden's approval ratings are middling, and dissatisfaction with him from some wings of his party was evident again Tuesday night.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024
Despite middling reviews, the film has quickly proven to be a blockbuster, crossing $100 million at the worldwide box office in just 10 days and earning the biggest opening day for a film in Jamaica, as per Deadline.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024
Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
And yet audiences don’t seem to care about the middling notices.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
Even with a nice win Tuesday, the Warriors’ middling and chaotic start to this campaign has left no reasonable doubt — the Warriors are in an era of transition, with all the counterbalancing ups and downs that will come along with it.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2024
Underway, the Compass remains relatively composed when leaned on, delivering a middling 0.81 g of grip from its 225/60R-17 Firestone Destination LE2 all-season rubber.
—David Beard, Car and Driver, 22 June 2023
More recent investments by other tech companies into VR experiences — sometimes called the metaverse — have generally been regarded as middling at best.
—Sara Ruberg, NBC News, 5 June 2023
Wakanda Forever’s two-hour and 41-minute run time, its middling-to-positive reviews, and the absence of original star Chadwick Boseman, who imbued his titular role as Black Panther/King T’Challa with regal swagger and a stately decorum not commonly associated with comic-book movies.
—Vulture, 14 Nov. 2022
Sainristil and the defense will be tasked with stopping one of the best QB-receiver tandems in the country — TCU’s Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston — while Zinter and Mullings look to take advantage of the Horned Frogs’ middling defense.
—Amin Touri, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Dec. 2022
Perhaps even worse are the optics, Kingsbury's offense middling at best amid underachieving QB Kyler Murray's constant ranting at his coach and teammates during games.
—Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 18 Nov. 2022
Adjective
This is Butler’s time, or should be: spring, the start of the N.B.A. postseason, when Butler transforms into Playoff Jimmy and leads the middling Miami Heat to glory, as sure as the daffodils.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
By the time Taylor-Johnson came aboard with her husband in the lead role, Frey had long since apologized and the literary furor had died down, but so had most of the interest in the film, which received a modest independent release and middling reviews.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
The observations favor the erosion of dark energy with the sort of middling statistical significance that could easily vanish with additional data.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
However, middling battery life, an average screen, and a cramped keyboard put the Commercial 14 behind the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 for our favorite entry-level business laptop.
—PCMAG, 27 Mar. 2024
Over the past few years the U.S. has struggled with middling productivity growth.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024
His younger brother, Tommie, hit .229 with 13 homers across seven middling big-league seasons.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Biden's approval ratings are middling, and dissatisfaction with him from some wings of his party was evident again Tuesday night.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024
Despite middling reviews, the film has quickly proven to be a blockbuster, crossing $100 million at the worldwide box office in just 10 days and earning the biggest opening day for a film in Jamaica, as per Deadline.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
McGraw wishes aid for the Chiefs and Royals would be weighed separately, given the Royals’ middling on-field performance.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2024
And yet audiences don’t seem to care about the middling notices.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024
Even with a nice win Tuesday, the Warriors’ middling and chaotic start to this campaign has left no reasonable doubt — the Warriors are in an era of transition, with all the counterbalancing ups and downs that will come along with it.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2024
Underway, the Compass remains relatively composed when leaned on, delivering a middling 0.81 g of grip from its 225/60R-17 Firestone Destination LE2 all-season rubber.
—David Beard, Car and Driver, 22 June 2023
More recent investments by other tech companies into VR experiences — sometimes called the metaverse — have generally been regarded as middling at best.
—Sara Ruberg, NBC News, 5 June 2023
Wakanda Forever’s two-hour and 41-minute run time, its middling-to-positive reviews, and the absence of original star Chadwick Boseman, who imbued his titular role as Black Panther/King T’Challa with regal swagger and a stately decorum not commonly associated with comic-book movies.
—Vulture, 14 Nov. 2022
Sainristil and the defense will be tasked with stopping one of the best QB-receiver tandems in the country — TCU’s Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston — while Zinter and Mullings look to take advantage of the Horned Frogs’ middling defense.
—Amin Touri, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Dec. 2022
Perhaps even worse are the optics, Kingsbury's offense middling at best amid underachieving QB Kyler Murray's constant ranting at his coach and teammates during games.
—Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 18 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'middling.' 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 middling
Cite this Entry
“Middling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middling. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
middling
1 of 2 adjective
mid·dling
ˈmid-liŋ 
-lən
: of medium size, degree, or quality
middling
adverb
middling
2 of 2 noun1
: any of various products of medium quality or size
2
plural
: a product produced by milling grain
especially
: a product of wheat milling that is used in animal feeds
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