middle-of-the-road

1 of 2

adjective

mid·​dle-of-the-road ˈmi-dᵊl-əv-ṯẖə-ˈrōd How to pronounce middle-of-the-road (audio)
: standing for or following a course of action midway between extremes
especially : being neither liberal nor conservative in politics
middle-of-the-roader noun
middle-of-the-roadism noun

middle of the road

2 of 2

noun phrase

: a course of action or a standpoint midway between extremes

Examples of middle-of-the-road in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Two seats are open this year on the state's middle-of-the-road Supreme Court, and state Republicans are targeting the state's 25-year-old ruling declaring the state constitution's right to privacy covers abortions. Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024 At $45,000, the new vehicle is more comparable to middle-of-the-road EVs, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the Tesla Model 3. Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024 Because your average, middle-of-the-road restaurant is still full service, but that price point is not quite high enough to pay for everything. Julia Moskin, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 The station carried a variety of formats, including what used to be called middle-of-the-road music, news-talk and modern country music. Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 12 Feb. 2024 He was lightly recruited before landing at Iowa State, a middle-of-the-road program in the powerful Big 12 Conference. David K. Li, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2024 In one middle-of-the-road scenario, delayed action around emissions leads the planet to experience a warmer decade in the 2020s before peaking at 2 degrees Celsius of warming around the middle of the century. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024 People liked its middle-of-the-road consistency: not too fudgy, not too cakey. Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2024 Is a merely decent opening enough for a middle-of-the-road contender whose awards fortunes will live and die by its box office? Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2024
Noun phrase
That meant the driver was toward the middle of the road and the wagon to the right. Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024 Especially in retrospect, Audi’s freshman effort was an innocuous offering that seemed laser-targeted at precisely the middle of the road. Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2024 The Broncos have been a bottom-half passing offense this season and, at best, middle of the road by most other measures. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023 Logs that were placed in the road in an apparent vigilante effort to stop more RVs from parking have simply been pushed into the middle of the road. Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023 Most of these ballet flats are over $100, which is more middle of the road in terms of ballet flat prices. Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 28 July 2023 On March 30, someone came into the Hopkinton police station to report picking up a chainsaw that had fallen out of a white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and was sitting in the middle of the road (police took the chainsaw and logged it as found property). Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023 According to a police report obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Pittsburgh police say Huggins was driving a black SUV on Friday night around 8:30 p.m. when officers observed his vehicle stopped in the middle of the road blocking traffic. Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, 18 June 2023 Here’s the lead question for the GOP: Will conservative interest groups and outraged constituents begin to light up the phones at the Capitol, tearing into middle of the road Republicans for supporting the plan? Chad Pergram, Fox News, 30 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'middle-of-the-road.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1894, in the meaning defined above

Noun Phrase

1891, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of middle-of-the-road was in 1891

Dictionary Entries Near middle-of-the-road

middle of the road

middle-of-the-road

middle oil

Cite this Entry

“Middle-of-the-road.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle-of-the-road. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

middle-of-the-road

adjective
mid·​dle-of-the-road
ˌmid-ᵊl-əv-t͟hə-ˈrōd
: standing for or following a course of action midway between extremes
especially : being neither liberal nor conservative in politics
middle-of-the-roader
-ˈrōd-ər
noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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