noun | adjective
middlemiddle1 /ˈmɪdl/ ●●● S1 W2 noun 1
the middle a)the center part of a thing, place, or position that is farthest from its sides or edges: middle of Janet was on her knees in the middle of the floor. A doughnut is a kind of cake with a hole in the middle. Draw a line down the middle of the page. The arrow landed right in the middle of the target. → see Word Choice at center1 b)the inside part of an object such as a ball, or piece of fruit: The pastries have cream in the middle. c)the part that is between the beginning and the end of an event, story, period of time, etc.: middle of The rain should stop by the middle of the afternoon. He walked out in the middle of the meeting. d)the position or rank that is between the highest and the lowest position in a list of people or things: In terms of ability, she’s about in the middle of the class.THESAURUScenter – center means the same as middle and is used especially about the part that is exactly in the middle: Make a pencil mark in the center of the circle. She placed the flowers in the center of the table.midpoint – the exact center of a line, scale of measurement, or area, or the exact middle of a period of time: The window is located at the midpoint of the hallway. At the midpoint of the season, the Lakers had sold 10,000 tickets.heart – the middle of an area, town, or city, where the most important things are: The hotel is located in the heart of Manhattan.core – the central part of the Earth, or of an object: The Earth has a solid inner core which is 2,500 kilometers in diameter.2be in the middle of (doing) something to be busy doing something: I’m in the middle of fixing dinner – can I call you back?3in the middle (of something) involved in a bad situation, especially an argument between two people: Innocent people are caught in the middle of the war between the two factions.4in the middle of nowhere a long way from the nearest town or from any interesting places: Michael lives way out in the middle of nowhere.5divide/split something down the middle to divide something into equal halves or groups: The vote was split right down the middle.6BODY [countable usually singular] informal the waist and the part of the body around the stomachWORD CHOICE: middle, center• You usually use center when you mean an exact point: The point where the lines cross is the center of the square.• You usually use middle when thinking of a slightly larger area: Put an X in the middle of the square.• You can use both middle and center to talk about the center of a flat area or object, or about the point that is inside something and furthest from all the edges: The donuts have jam in the center/middle.• You usually use middle to talk about something that is between the top and bottom of something: The cake has a layer of frosting in the middle. noun | adjective
middlemiddle2 ●●● S2 W2 adjective [only before noun] 1CENTER nearest to the center of something: It’s in the middle drawer of the file cabinet. I always drive in the middle lane.2TIME/EVENT between the beginning and end of an event or period of time: I missed the middle part of the movie.3SCALE/RANGE between the highest and the lowest position in a list of people or things: We’re looking for a car priced in the middle range.a middle brother/child/daughter etc. (=the brother, child, etc. who is between the oldest and the youngest)4a middle course/way/path etc. a way of dealing with something that is between two opposite and often extreme ways: Schoenfeld is steering a middle course between restoration and modernization of the building.5Middle English/French etc. an old form of English, French, etc., used in the Middle Ages[Origin: Old English middel] → see also middle finger, middle name