middling

adjective

mid·dling | \ ˈmid-liŋ

, -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

noun

Definition 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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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

Parrish and Vitriano have stored up so many memories from the decades at Oracle, that the Warriors’ recent success has started to supplant, in their minds, the middling years that preceded it. — Ray Chavez, The Mercury News, "Goodbye Oracle: Longtime Arena workers reflect on Oakland’s final Warriors farewell," 4 June 2019 Keeping out ut of the box will be a point of emphasis for Nashville, as will be getting the most out of a surprisingly middling power play. — Si.com Staff, SI.com, "Why Each NHL Team Won't Win the Stanley Cup," 10 Apr. 2018 Out of a portfolio of, say, 50 investments, the chances are that 20 will fail and 20 might produce a middling return. — The Economist, "The impact of Masayoshi Son’s $100bn tech fund will be profound," 10 May 2018 Bogaerts didn’t swing much in the strike zone (or overall) despite seeing a ton of first-pitch strikes, instead trying to go after outside pitches with middling success. — Si.com Staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: Blowing Up Small Sample Sizes, Heroic Homer Feats and Establishing an All-MLB Team," 2 Apr. 2018 Even a middling Navi GPU should provide a huge step up over the PlayStation 4’s capabilities. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Why Sony's PlayStation 5 specs matter to PC gamers: Ryzen, Radeon, SSDs, and ray tracing," 16 Apr. 2019 Reaction to the tip: No untoward reaction to cash payment and middling gratuity. — Fox, Town & Country, "A Table for Mr. Fox," 21 Nov. 2012 Police began using strobing versions of these flashlights, but still with middling effects. — David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, "The Long, Weird History of Strobe Weapons," 11 Feb. 2019 This movie, from director Cameron Crowe (and produced by James L. Brooks) is far too sophisticated for such a middling finale. — Vogue, "The 55 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time," 1 Feb. 2019

These 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.