middle
♦♦♦ mid|dle /m'ɪdəl/ (middles)
1 [N-COUNT] usu the N in sing, oft N of n
The middle of 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...
Hyde accelerated away from the kerb, swerving out into the middle of the street...
Make sure the roast potatoes aren't raw in the middle.
the middle of nowhere: see nowhere
= centre
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
The middle object in a row of objects is the one that has an equal number of objects on each side.
The middle button of his uniform jacket was strained over his belly.
...the middle finger of her left hand.
3 [N-SING] the N of n
The middle of 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...
[ADJ] ADJ n
Middle is also an adjective.
The month began and ended quite dry, but the middle fortnight saw nearly 100mm of rain fall nationwide.
4 [ADJ] ADJ n
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...
5 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you divide or split something down the middle, you divide or split it into two equal halves or groups.
They agreed to split the bill down the middle...
= in half
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR -ing/n
If you are in the middle of doing something, you are busy doing it.
It's a bit hectic. I'm in the middle of cooking for nine people...mid|dle age
[N-UNCOUNT]
Middle age is the period in your life when you are no longer young but have not yet become old. Middle age is usually considered to take place between the ages of 40 and 60.
Men tend to put on weight in middle age.♦ mid|dle class (middle classes)
[N-COUNT-COLL] usu the N
The middle class or middle classes are the people in a society who are not working class or upper class. Business people, managers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers are usually regarded as middle class.
...the expansion of the middle class in the late 19th century...
The President may have secured some support from the middle classes.
[ADJ]
Middle class is also an adjective.
He is rapidly losing the support of blue-collar voters and of middle-class conservatives...mid|dle dis|tance
1 [N-SING] the N, usu into/in the N
If you are looking into the middle distance, you are looking at a place that is neither near nor far away.
He stares detachedly into the middle distance, towards nothing in particular.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
A middle-distance runner is someone who takes part in races of medium length, for example 800 metres.mid|dle man|age|ment
[N-UNCOUNT]
Middle management refers to managers who are below the top level of management, and who are responsible for controlling and running an organization rather than making decisions about how it operates. (BUSINESS)
The proportion of women in middle management has risen to 40%.
...middle-management jobs.mid|dle name (middle names)
1 [N-COUNT] usu poss N
Your middle name is the name that comes between your first name and your surname.
His middle name is Justin.
2 [N-COUNT] usu poss N
You can use middle name in expressions such as `discretion was her middle name' and `his middle name is loyalty' to indicate that someone always behaves with a great deal of a particular quality. (HUMOROUS)
Geniality is my middle name. I rarely write a fierce word about any restaurant.mid|dle school (middle schools)
1 [N-VAR] oft in names after n
In the United States, a middle school is a school for children in the fifth to eighth grades, between the ages of 10 and 13 or 14.
...Harlem Park Middle School...
2 [N-VAR] oft in names after n
In Britain, a middle school is a state school that children go to between the ages of 8 or 9 and 12 or 13.
1 [N-COUNT] usu the N in sing, oft N of n
The middle of 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...
Hyde accelerated away from the kerb, swerving out into the middle of the street...
Make sure the roast potatoes aren't raw in the middle.
the middle of nowhere: see nowhere
= centre
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
The middle object in a row of objects is the one that has an equal number of objects on each side.
The middle button of his uniform jacket was strained over his belly.
...the middle finger of her left hand.
3 [N-SING] the N of n
The middle of 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...
[ADJ] ADJ n
Middle is also an adjective.
The month began and ended quite dry, but the middle fortnight saw nearly 100mm of rain fall nationwide.
4 [ADJ] ADJ n
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...
5 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you divide or split something down the middle, you divide or split it into two equal halves or groups.
They agreed to split the bill down the middle...
= in half
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR -ing/n
If you are in the middle of doing something, you are busy doing it.
It's a bit hectic. I'm in the middle of cooking for nine people...mid|dle age
[N-UNCOUNT]
Middle age is the period in your life when you are no longer young but have not yet become old. Middle age is usually considered to take place between the ages of 40 and 60.
Men tend to put on weight in middle age.♦ mid|dle class (middle classes)
[N-COUNT-COLL] usu the N
The middle class or middle classes are the people in a society who are not working class or upper class. Business people, managers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers are usually regarded as middle class.
...the expansion of the middle class in the late 19th century...
The President may have secured some support from the middle classes.
[ADJ]
Middle class is also an adjective.
He is rapidly losing the support of blue-collar voters and of middle-class conservatives...mid|dle dis|tance
1 [N-SING] the N, usu into/in the N
If you are looking into the middle distance, you are looking at a place that is neither near nor far away.
He stares detachedly into the middle distance, towards nothing in particular.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
A middle-distance runner is someone who takes part in races of medium length, for example 800 metres.mid|dle man|age|ment
[N-UNCOUNT]
Middle management refers to managers who are below the top level of management, and who are responsible for controlling and running an organization rather than making decisions about how it operates. (BUSINESS)
The proportion of women in middle management has risen to 40%.
...middle-management jobs.mid|dle name (middle names)
1 [N-COUNT] usu poss N
Your middle name is the name that comes between your first name and your surname.
His middle name is Justin.
2 [N-COUNT] usu poss N
You can use middle name in expressions such as `discretion was her middle name' and `his middle name is loyalty' to indicate that someone always behaves with a great deal of a particular quality. (HUMOROUS)
Geniality is my middle name. I rarely write a fierce word about any restaurant.mid|dle school (middle schools)
1 [N-VAR] oft in names after n
In the United States, a middle school is a school for children in the fifth to eighth grades, between the ages of 10 and 13 or 14.
...Harlem Park Middle School...
2 [N-VAR] oft in names after n
In Britain, a middle school is a state school that children go to between the ages of 8 or 9 and 12 or 13.