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middle Definition

mid·dle (mid′'l)

adjective

  1. halfway between two given points, times, limits, etc.; also, equally distant from all sides or extremities; in the center; mean
  2. in between; intermediate; intervening
  3. Gram.
    1. denoting the voice or form of a verb whose subject is represented as acting reflexively, or upon itself: in Greek, such verbs are usually passive in grammatical form
    2. in or of the middle voice
  4. Geol. designating a division of a period or a formation between those called Upper and Lower
  5. designating a stage in language development intermediate between those called Old and Modern Middle English

Etymology: ME middel < OE < midd-, mid + -el, -le

noun

  1. a point or part halfway between extremes; middle point, part, time, etc.
  2. something intermediate
  3. the middle part of the body; waist
  4. Gram. the middle voice
  5. middle term

transitive verb, intransitive verb -·dled, -·dling

to put in the middle

middle Synonyms

middle

modif.

between, mean, midway, medial, average, mezzo, equidistant; see also central 1, halfway, intermediate.

middle Synonyms

middle

n.

center, midpoint, midst, nucleus, core, heart, mean, median, midriff, waist, midsection, halfway point, thick, thick of things; see also center 1.

middle refers to the point or part equally distant from either or all sides or extremities and may apply to space, time, or a sequence the middle of the stage, the middle of the day; center more precisely stresses the point equidistant from the bounding lines or surfaces of a plane or solid figure the center of a circle, the center of the globe and is often used figuratively the center of town, a trade center; midst, used in prepositional phrases, denotes a middle part that is surrounded by persons or things or a middle point in some action in the midst of a crowd, in the midst of one's work

middle Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • century: In the middle of the 18th century, cotton began to arrive in large amounts in Britain from the American colonies.
  • night: Jonah woke in the middle of the night feeling sick.
  • desert: Quite an achievement in the middle of a scrub desert.
  • winter: Here rhododendrons may be found in bloom even in the middle of winter.
  • road: There's a little girl sitting in the middle of the road.
  • ocean: You can almost pretend you are not really on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

Converse of object

  • age: Actually, thinness, on a middle aged or older woman is very aging.
  • split: The rest of the album is split nearly down the middle with upbeat tracks and ones that take a more reflective side.
  • seek: Hotels here cater for those on a budget, as well as people seeking middle to high end alternatives.
  • begin: This one's all about beginning, middles and ends and interesting stories.
  • round: A new set of strips was purchased which consisted of an all white strip with two blue bands round the middle of the jersey.
  • hold: He held the middle of the park very well and gave a very David Batty like performance without the adventure.

Adjective modifier

  • early: Year quot quot salary to demonstrate search early middle.

Modifies a noun

  • class: Upper middle class not too rich, not too poor.
  • ear: Glue ear is most common in children under five and occurs when the middle ear becomes blocked.
  • finger: Middle fingers raised into the air, Manchester responded.
  • age: The origins of the town date back to the middle ages.
  • ground: In addition, there are middle ground or standard policies.
  • lane: When you come to the next set of lights get into the middle lane and go straight on.

Modifying Another Word

  • predominantly: They are predominantly middle class, university graduates, lawyers, journalists and small business men.
middle Quotes

And soft adorings from their loves receive Upon the honeyed middle of the night.

—Keats,John

I did not know I was a humorist. I have never been sure about it. In the middle ages,I should probably have gone about preaching and got myself burned or hanged.

—Jerome,Jerome K(lapka)

People who are always praising the past And especially the times of faith as best Ought to go and live in the Middle Ages And be burnt at the stake as witches and sages.

—Smith, Stevie (Florence Margaret)

The middle-management of Manhattan stared on, their faces as thin as credit cards.

—Amis, Martin Louis

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura che¤   la diritta via era smarrita. In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself in a dark wood where the straight path was lost.

—Dante Alighieri originally Durante

This infant whose middle Is diapered still Will want to marry My daughter Jill. Oh sweet be his slumber and moist his middle! My dreams, I fear, are infanticiddle.

—Nash, (Frederic) Ogden

Suppose ourancestors had discovered nuclear power in the middle ages, and had decided to bury their radioactive fuel.

—Lamb, Marjorie

I agree with you that in politics the middle way is none at all.

—Adams,John

Has he reconnected with the angry middle?

—Anonymous

Bad as our urban conditions often are, there isnot a slum in the country which has a third of the infantile death- rate of the royal family in the middle ages.

—Haldane,J(ohn) B(urdon) S(anderson)

Medio tutissimus ibis. You will go most safely by the middle way.

—Ovid full name Publius OvidiusNaso   4317

  We dance round in a ring and suppose, But the Secret sits in the middle and knows. 339

—Frost, Robert Lee