middle

adjective

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mid·dle | \ ˈmi-dᵊl

Definition of middle

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

noun

Definition of middle (Entry 2 of 2)

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

middle of nowhere

: an extremely remote and isolated place ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about middle

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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 Other picture books followed, then middle-grade novels. — John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Pam Muñoz Ryan: Hooking readers one page at a time," 27 Sep. 2020 The sign collapsed and fell on Ripepi’s gray 2019 Ford F-150 in one of the highway’s middle lanes, State Highway Patrol said. — Kaylee Remington, cleveland, "City of Cleveland expresses condolences for Daniel Ripepi, killed in Interstate 480 accident," 26 Sep. 2020 First up, United Launch Alliance on Sunday is targeting a middle-of-the-night launch window to send up a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. — Caroline Glenn, orlandosentinel.com, "ULA launching spy satellite Sunday; SpaceX attempting another Starlink launch Monday," 25 Sep. 2020 Junior outside hitter/middle blocker Sophie Ocampo is also back along with Kaitlyn Morgan, Jordan Rambo and others. — Marcus Gutierrez, Houston Chronicle, "Volleyball: Kingwood hopes to get over area playoff hump," 25 Sep. 2020 Place in the oven on a middle rack and roast until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, about 12 minutes. — Christian Reynoso, SFChronicle.com, "Fall’s cranberry beans reimagine chile verde as a sultry vegetarian stew," 25 Sep. 2020 Most scholars attribute all or most of Acts I and V to the Bard and the three middle acts mainly to Fletcher. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Rare Edition of Shakespeare’s Last Play Found in Spanish Library," 25 Sep. 2020 But the patient always stands in the middle, powerless and usually without a clue on what’s even happening. — Star Tribune, "How Allina, Blue Cross define the 'value-based' trend sweeping the health care industry," 25 Sep. 2020 The painting is divided into three vertical sections: In the middle Boty depicts Marilyn Monroe at her most seductive, surrounded by flowers, while the flanking panels feature austere, abstract designs. — Peter Saenger, WSJ, "Novelist Ali Smith Finds Art for All Seasons," 25 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun That’s a sacred ground in the middle of the Baltimore defense for the past 20 years or so. — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, "‘Monday Night Football’ analyst Brian Griese on Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, AFC pecking order and more," 28 Sep. 2020 Coaches spoke about their statistical importance last week, especially while Detroit was in the middle of a drought. — Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, "How the Detroit Lions' defense emphatically broke out of a turnover drought," 28 Sep. 2020 The ordinance comes in the middle of a building moratorium that was enacted by the town council in July. — Jessica Saggio | Contributing Writer, NOLA.com, "Pearl River will increase impact fees to help pay for ongoing sewage issues," 28 Sep. 2020 Later Sunday night, some of the protesters stood in the middle of the intersection of Main Street and Magnolia Avenue, interrupting traffic. — David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Protests in El Cajon mark the death of Alfred Olango, killed by a police officer in 2016," 27 Sep. 2020 The Lakers were in the middle of their season when Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter (Gianna) and seven others died in a helicopter crash. — Mark Medina, USA TODAY, "LeBron James credits coach Frank Vogel for Lakers being 'great' this season," 27 Sep. 2020 Step 1 Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. — Washington Post, "Portobellos With Chickpeas and Tahini," 27 Sep. 2020 The circumstances of Taylor's death -- being shot in her own home in the middle of the night -- adds to the sense that nowhere is safe. — David Williams, CNN, "Black Americans are #sickandtired of the lack of justice for police killings. The Breonna Taylor decision is yet another disappointment," 27 Sep. 2020 But in the grand scheme of things, Louisville’s defense is somewhere in the middle of those numbers. — Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, "Despite loss, Louisville defense shows signs of improvement against Pittsburgh," 27 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'middle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.