Themiddleof something is the part of it that is furthest from its edges, ends, or outside surface.
Howard stood in the middle of the room, sipping a cup of coffee. [+ of]
Hyde accelerated away from the kerb, swerving out into the middle of the street. [+ of]
I was in the middle of the back row.
Make sure the roast potatoes aren't raw in the middle.
Synonyms: centre, heart, inside, thick More Synonyms of middle
2. the middle of nowhere
3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
The middle object in a row of objects is the one that has an equal number of objects on eachside.
The middle button of his uniform jacket was strained over his belly.
...the middle finger of her left hand.
4. countable noun [usually poss NOUN]
Your middle is the part of your body around your stomach.
[informal]
At age fifty-three, he now has a few extra pounds around his middle.
The cook's apron covered her middle.
Synonyms: waist, gut, belly, tummy [informal] More Synonyms of middle
5. singular noun
Themiddleof an event or period of time is the part that comes after the first part and before the last part.
I woke up in the middle of the night and could hear a tapping on the window.
It was now the middle of November, cold and often foggy.
She was born in the middle of a rain storm.
Middle is also an adjective.
The month began and ended dry, but the middle fortnight saw nearly 100mm of rain.
6. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
If someone is in their middle thirties, for example, they are aged somewhere approximately between thirty-four and thirty-six.
She knew he was in his middle fifties, although he looked much younger.
I went on competing till I was in my middle forties.
7. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
The middle child in a family has equal numbers of younger and older brothers and sisters.
His middle son died in a drowning accident five years back.
8. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
The middle course or way is a moderate course of action that lies between two opposite and extreme courses.
He favoured a middle course between free enterprise and state intervention.
9.
See down the middle
10.
See in the middle of
More Synonyms of middle
middle in British English
(ˈmɪdəl)
adjective
1.
equally distant from the ends or periphery of something; central
2.
intermediate in status, situation, etc
3.
located between the early and late parts of a series, time sequence, etc
4.
not extreme, esp in size; medium
5.
(esp in Greek and Sanskrit grammar) denoting a voice of verbs expressing reciprocal or reflexive action
Compare active (sense 5), passive (sense 5)
6. (usually capital)
(of a language) intermediate between the earliest and the modern forms
Middle English
noun
7.
an area or point equal in distance from the ends or periphery or in time between the early and late parts
8.
an intermediate part or section, such as the waist
9. grammar
the middle voice
10. logic middle term
11.
the ground between rows of growing plants
12.
a discursive article in a journal, placed between the leading articles and the book reviews
13. cricket
a position on the batting creases in alignment with the middle stumps on which a batsman may take guard
verb(transitive)
14.
to place in the middle
15. nautical
to fold in two
16. football
to return (the ball) from the wing to midfield
17. cricket
to hit (the ball) with the middle of the bat
Word origin
Old English middel; compare Old Frisian middel, Dutch middel, German mittel
middle in American English
(ˈmɪdəl)
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. Grammar
a.
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
b.
in or of the middle voice
4. [M-]; Geology
designating a division of a period or a formation between those called Upper and Lower
5. [M-]
designating a stage in language development intermediate between those called Old and Modern
Middle English
noun
6.
a point or part halfway between extremes; middle point, part, time, etc.
7.
something intermediate
8.
the middle part of the body; waist
9. Grammar
the middle voice
10.
middle term
verb transitive, verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈmiddled or ˈmiddling
11.
to put in the middle
SYNONYMY NOTE: middle refers to the point or part equally distant from either or all sides or extremitiesand may apply to space, time, etc. [the middle of the stage, the day, etc.]; center more precisely stresses the point equidistant from the bounding lines or surfacesof any plane or solid figure [the center of a circle, globe, etc.] and is sometimes used figuratively [the center of town, a trade center]; midst, usually used in prepositional phrases, denotes a middle part that is surroundedby persons or things or a middle point in some action [in the midst of a crowd, one's work, etc.]
Word origin
ME middel < OE < midd-, mid1 + -el, -le
More idioms containing
middle
play both ends against the middle
the piggy in the middle
in the middle of nowhere
Examples of 'middle' in a sentence
middle
We look short towards the middle and the back.
The Sun (2016)
It is a tale of hair from middle age and beyond.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The second half did not produce the giddy play of that middle period of the first half.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Cut down the middle giving two long strips.
The Sun (2016)
There is a golf course and driving range in the middle of the course.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Place in the middle of the foil.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For both sides, there has to be a middle way.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The reception staff will phone your room in the middle of the night if the Northern Lights are visible so you can rush outside to see them.
The Sun (2016)
There are three steps to getting back into the middle of life.
Christianity Today (2000)
The offer is open until the middle of next month.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It was dead in the middle of the course when she raced there.
The Sun (2009)
Liverpool is in the middle of two years of festivities.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Yet a nation that was once split down the middle is now firmly on his side.
The Sun (2006)
This followed a verbal altercation on their way from the middle.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We were right in the middle of a row.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The move would hit middle earners in final salary schemes if they receive a pay rise.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The reason it grew dark was that my plane was in the middle of the storm.
Sidney Sheldon The Other Side of Me
We lost too many wickets through the middle period.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Nine chapters take the unnamed narrator from boyhood to early middle age.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Where we have lost is in the middle part.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They are either this way or that way but it is the bit in the middle.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We are now in the middle of the sixth extinction episode.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
We know that the middle class listen more to advertising than the poor.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You just sit there and stare into the middle distance.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
middle
British English: middle /ˈmɪdl/ NOUN
The middle of something is the part that is farthest from its edges, ends, or outside surface.
He stood in the middle of the room.
American English: middle
Arabic: وَسَطُ
Brazilian Portuguese: centro
Chinese: 中间
Croatian: sredina
Czech: prostřední
Danish: midte
Dutch: midden
European Spanish: medio centro
Finnish: keskikohta
French: milieu
German: Mitte
Greek: μέση κέντρο
Italian: mezzo
Japanese: 中央
Korean: 중간
Norwegian: midt
Polish: środek centrum
European Portuguese: centro
Romanian: mijloc
Russian: середина
Latin American Spanish: medio centro
Swedish: mitt mitt emellan
Thai: ตรงกลาง
Turkish: orta
Ukrainian: середина
Vietnamese: chỗ giữa
Chinese translation of 'middle'
middle
(ˈmɪdl)
n
(c) (= centre) 中央 (zhōngyāng) (个(個), gè)
⇒ Howard stood in the middle of the room.霍华德站在房间中央。 (Huòhuádé zhàn zài fángjiān zhōngyāng.)
(s) (= half-way point)[of month, event]中 (zhōng)
⇒ in the middle of the party舞会中 (wǔhuì zhōng)
⇒ in the middle of the morning上午10点左右 (shàngwǔ shí diǎn zuǒyòu)
(c) (inf, = waist) 腰部 (yāobù)
adj
[position, event, period]中间(間)的 (zhōngjiān de)
⇒ the middle month of each quarter每一季的中间那个月份 (měi yī jì de zhōngjiān nàge yuèfèn)
⇒ She was the middle child of three.她在3个孩子中排行老二。 (Tā zài sǎn gè háizi zhōng páiháng lǎoèr.)