middle

middle
1 /'mIdl/ noun
1 the middle
a) the part that is furthest from the sides, edges, or ends: a seat in the middle of the front row | Here's a photo of us on holiday - that's me in the middle. | right in the middle/right down the middle etc: The other car was driving right in the middle of the road. | Going through the middle of Tokyo in the rushhour can be a nightmare.
b) the part that is between the beginning and the end of an event, story, period etc: Why don't we meet sometime in the middle of the week? | She started to feel sick in the middle of the exam. | I arrived in Athens in the middle of a heatwave.
c) the position or rank that is between the highest and the lowest position in a list of people or things: Janine graduated top of the class and I finished somewhere around the middle.
d) the inside part of an object such as a ball, or piece of fruit: Urgh! There's a maggot in the middle of this apple!
2 be in the middle of (doing sth) to be busy doing something: Can I call you back - I'm in the middle of a meeting. | She was just in the middle of getting the dinner ready.
3 (countable usually singular) informal the waist and the part of the body around the stomach: Nick seems to be getting a bit fat round his middle.
4 in the middle of nowhere a long way from the nearest town or from any interesting places: So there we were, in the middle of nowhere, and out of gas.
5 divide/split sth down the middle to divide something into equal halves or groups: The votes are divided right down the middle on this issue.
—see also: piggy in the middle piggy 1 (2) 2 adjective (only before noun)
1 nearest the centre, especially of a row, list, or group of things or people: the middle house in a row of five | Two of his middle front teeth were missing. | the middle drawer of the filing cabinet
2 halfway through an event or period of time: They spent the middle part of their vacation in Florida.
3 in your middle twenties/thirties etc about 25, 35 etc years old
4 middle brother/child/daughter etc the brother etc who is between the oldest and the youngest
5 middle course/way etc a way of dealing with something that is between two opposite and often extreme ways: The administration is trying to follow a middle course on health care reform.
6 Middle English/French etc an old form of English, French etc, used in the Middle Ages (=between 1100 and 1500 AD)
—see also: middle finger, middle name

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Middle — Mid dle (m[i^]d d l), a. [OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG. muttil, G. mittel. [root]271. See {Mid}, a.] [1913 Webster] 1. Equally distant from the extreme either of a number of things or of one thing; mean; medial; as, the middle… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Middle — may refer to: Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Geography in fiction …   Wikipedia

  • middle — [mid′ l] adj. [ME middel < OE < midd ,MID1 + el, LE] 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. a …   English World dictionary

  • Middle — Mid dle, n. [AS. middel. See {Middle}, a.] The point or part equally distant from the extremities or exterior limits, as of a line, a surface, or a solid; an intervening point or part in space, time, or order of series; the midst; central… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • middle — [adj] central average, between, betwixt and between*, center, centermost, equidistant, halfway, inner, inside, intermediate, intervening, mainstream, mean, medial, median, medium, mezzo*, middlemost, middle of the road*, midmost, smack in the… …   New thesaurus

  • middle C — n [U] the musical note C, which is the middle note on a piano …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • middle C — ► NOUN Music ▪ the C near the middle of the piano keyboard, written on the first ledger line below the treble stave or the first ledger line above the bass stave …   English terms dictionary

  • middle — ► ADJECTIVE 1) at an equal distance from the extremities of something; central. 2) intermediate in rank, quality, or ability. ► NOUN 1) a middle point or position. 2) informal a person s waist and stomach …   English terms dictionary

  • middle — I adjective average, axial, centermost, central, centric, centroidal, equidistant, halfway, interjacent, intermediary, intermediate, mean, medial, median, mediate, mediocre, medium, mid, midmost, midway, pivotal II noun average, axis, center,… …   Law dictionary

  • middle — n *center, midst, core, hub, focus, nucleus, heart …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • middle C — n. 1. the musical note on the first ledger line below the treble staff and the first above the bass staff 2. the corresponding tone or key …   English World dictionary

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