middle

1 of 2

adjective

mid·​dle ˈmi-dᵊl 

1

: equally distant from the extremes : medial, central

the middle house in the row

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

middle

2 of 2

noun

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

Phrases

middle of nowhere

: an extremely remote and isolated place

ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere

Synonyms

Adjective

• central
• halfway
• intermediary
• intermediate
• medial
• median
• mediate
• medium
• mid
• midmost

Noun

• golden mean
• mean
• medium
• middle ground
• midpoint

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

Adjective

There are five total categories: 20% off for customers who can fit through the smallest space, 15% for the next-smallest space, 10% off for the middle space, 5% off for the next-largest opening and full price for those who can only fit through the largest gap. —Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025

On the middle floor, where Wade’s cousins used to live, a Ring camera had been installed. —D. Watkins, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025

Noun

Pretty much everything else is shuffled off to the infotainment system, a single circular touchscreen that lives in the middle of the dash. —ArsTechnica, 10 Apr. 2025

The trial is expected to last through the middle of May, according to the court's calendar. —Bill Chappell, NPR, 9 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English middel, from Old English; akin to Old English midde

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing middle

• caught in the middle
• down the middle
• in the middle
• in the middle of
• in the middle of nowhere
• middle age
• middle C
• middle class
• middle distance
• middle ear
• middle finger
• middle game
• middle ground
• middle lamella
• middle management
• middle name
• middle of nowhere
• middle of the road
• middle school
• middle-sized
• middle temporal artery
• middle term
• piggy in the middle
• pig in the middle
• play both ends against the middle
• the middle-aged
• thick around the middle

Rhymes for middle

• diddle
• fiddle
• griddle
• riddle

Kids 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 noun

1

: a middle part, point, or position : center

2

: waist sense 1a

3

: the position of being among or in the midst of something

in the middle of the crowd