1 middle | Definition of middle

middle

adjective
mid·​dle | \ ˈmi-dᔊl How to pronounce middle (audio) \

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

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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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

McClain returned from the one-year retirement to help the Cowboys win the NFC East title in 2014 and earn their first playoff victory since 2009 as Dallas' middle linebacker. Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, "Dallas Cowboys release Rolando McClain," 2 Sep. 2019 In another sport, Patterson might have been a point guard or middle infielder. Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football's new offense and Shea Patterson are a perfect fit," 1 Sep. 2019 His middle son, Jay Richard Rowley (Kris) of Boynton Beach and their two children; Nicholas Jay Rowley and Caroline Olivia Rowley both of Boynton Beach. sun-sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 9/1," 1 Sep. 2019 When the Owls were crossed up in Ohio State’s double-tight-end routes over the middle, Fields hit Jeremy Ruckert for a 25-yard touchdown. Nathan Baird, cleveland.com, "Ohio State must build on defensive start from 45-21 victory over Florida Atlantic," 31 Aug. 2019 Clip all the hair on either side of the middle section away. Glamour, "10 Braided Hairstyles You Can Actually Do on Your Own," 31 Aug. 2019 But France had never been the middle cog in turning a double play, never been on the receiving end of a Manny Machado bullet. San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padres notes: Paddack on the attack; France turns two; bullpen battling," 30 Aug. 2019 Also looking to make an impact for Holy Family are senior middle blocker Maely Lopez, senior libero Amy Camacho and junior setter Gabriela Martinez. Charles Rich, Glendale News-Press, "Girls’ Volleyball Preview: Holy Family, St. Monica Academy look to defend league championships," 29 Aug. 2019 For example, running the neural network backward from one of its middle layers, rather than from the output layer, leads to hallucinations of object parts, rather than whole objects. Anil K. Seth, Scientific American, "The Neuroscience of Reality," 27 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

For the first time, Hotels.com has designed a hotel suite that's literally split down the middle—design wise, that is. Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "Hotels.com Has Created The First-Ever Half Maximalist, Half Minimalist Hotel Suite," 3 Sep. 2019 Flintridge Prep then got the ball back and scored four plays later when quarterback Max Gitlin found Zach Kim in the middle of the end zone behind the defense. Nathan Cambridge, Glendale News-Press, "Flintridge Prep football steamrolls in opening-season rout," 31 Aug. 2019 This jet forces out oxygen that accumulates in the middle of the polyp (thanks to its resident symbionts, photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae). Scientific American, "Nanomachines, Jellyfish Hugs and Hurricane Dorian From Space: The Week's Best Science GIFs," 30 Aug. 2019 The boats that take tourists to watch sharks hunt seals at Seal Island, in the middle of False Bay, have not recorded sightings either. Linda Nordling, Science | AAAS, "Great white sharks have suddenly disappeared from one of their favorite hangouts," 30 Aug. 2019 Hollister caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith in the middle of the second quarter. oregonlive, "Seattle Seahawks defeat the Oakland Raiders in final preseason game: 10 winners and losers," 30 Aug. 2019 Wong himself was in prison when this summer’s protests kicked off in June, and was only released in the middle of that month. Isabella Steger, Quartz, "Hong Kong begins rounding up high-profile pro-democracy activists," 30 Aug. 2019 Then at 6-5, McNally saved three break points, then drilled a huge serve down the middle that Williams couldn’t get back. Michael Lewis, Cincinnati.com, "Madeira's Caty McNally puts up valiant fight, falls to Serena Williams at U.S. Open," 29 Aug. 2019 On Samardzija’s 91st, a strike away from his first 1-2-3 inning, Marte hit an 0-2 fastball down the middle into the fat part of the Arcade in right-center to tie the game 1-1. Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Giants fall six games below .500 at home after another low-octane defeat," 27 Aug. 2019

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.

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First Known Use of middle

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for middle

Adjective

Middle English middel, from Old English; akin to Old English midde

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More Definitions for middle

middle

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of middle

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: equally distant from the ends or sides : halfway between two points
: in a state or place between two things or people