mid·dling | \ ˈmid-liŋ 
, -lən \
, -lən \Definition of middling
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : of middle, medium, or moderate size, degree, or quality
2 : mediocre, second-rate
3 : of, relating to, or being a middle class
middling
nounDefinition of middling (Entry 2 of 2)
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
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Other Words from middling
Adjective
middling adverb
middlingly \ ˈmid-liŋ-lē , -lən- \ adverb
, -lən- \ adverb
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: Adjective But the fact was that the Saints, a team whose identity has been tied to its offensive firepower for a long time, was a middling offense through the first 14 games.
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Luke Johnson, NOLA.com, "Saints re-watch: How the line set the tone for one of the Saints' best offensive games ever," 27 Dec. 2020 In three seasons at Louisiana, Napier has resurrected a middling Sun Belt program that posted three straight sub-.500 seasons prior to his arrivals.
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Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, "Billy Napier pulls out of consideration for Auburn job, will remain at Louisiana," 21 Dec. 2020 The fights have lasted a total of nine rounds against middling opposition.
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Manouk Akopyan, Los Angeles Times, "Next stage of Ryan Garcia’s career could come after Luke Campbell fight," 1 Jan. 2021 Kelly is a middling reliever with a powerful, but erratic arm.
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Matt Young, Chron, "The 10 Houston sports moments that made 2020 even worse," 29 Dec. 2020 Frustrations with the Quakes’ middling results in recent years, combined with other teams’ potential interest in signing him as a free agent, could mean Wondolowski bolts for another club in 2021.
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Nick Eilerson, SFChronicle.com, "Will Chris Wondolowski leave San Jose Earthquakes in 2021? Three key factors," 12 Dec. 2020 Yoo also feels that the government’s middling approach to social distancing, which has targeted specific business activities while keeping the broader part of the economy open, has put an unfair financial burden on businesses like hers.
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Bloomberg.com, "After Early Success, South Korea Sleepwalks Into Virus Crisis," 26 Dec. 2020 Some middling quarterbacks -- Purdue’s David Blough, Iowa’s Nate Stanley -- have had big games while upsetting the Buckeyes in recent years.
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Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, "Can Northwestern football hang with the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday? 5 players who could give the Wildcats a chance," 16 Dec. 2020 Defensively, the Lions were a middling unit throughout Patricia's tenure, ranking near the bottom of the league in scoring, total and rushing defense.
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Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, "Lions' Trey Flowers: Matt Patricia 'obviously' deserves 2nd opportunity to be head coach," 11 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun There were excuses for last season, but this time around, there will be no acceptance of middling, muddling mediocrity.
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Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, "Steve Kerr’s most challenging season? No, these Warriors will be his most fun," 19 Dec. 2020 Josh Richardson, in exchange for Seth Curry, appears primed to be a starter who upgrades the Mavericks’ middling defense.
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Callie Caplan, Dallas News, "Mavs mailbag: Discussing Luka Doncic’s championship goals, Dallas’ salary cap future and more," 2 Dec. 2020 There are a lot of NHL teams making a lot of changes because of injuries to their starting goalies this season — and not just the ceremonies to honor middling milestones.
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Jimmy Golen, The Denver Post, "NHL teams realize backup goaltender is important position," 22 Jan. 2020 Last season’s middling, inconsistent Broncos run defense wound up finishing 16th in the NFL at 111.4 rushing yards per game allowed.
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Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, "Broncos Insider: With Jurrell Casey added and Bradley Chubb healthy again, Denver’s run defense will be formidable," 5 Apr. 2020 Alas, prognosticators around the internet expect the Lions to have another middling, albeit better season after finishing 3-12-1 in 2019.
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Chris Thomas, Detroit Free Press, "2020 Detroit Lions schedule predictions: Here's what experts are forecasting," 8 May 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'middling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for middling
middling
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of middling
: of average size or quality
See the full definition for middling in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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Time Traveler for middling
The first known use of middling was in the 15th century
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