mid

MID/mɪd/

9 meanings of mid

1
halfwayadjective
Occupying a position in the middle, whether of a space, a stretch of time, or a series.
The engine failed in mid-ocean, hundreds of miles from the nearest port.
The physiotherapist traced the ache to his mid back, just below the shoulder blades.
Similarmiddle, central
Note
It has no comparative, yet it keeps a superlative, midmost, for the very center. Herman Melville's Pierre (1852) shows it standing plainly before a noun: "the mid hour of night."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Mid has no comparative and has the superlative midmost. en.wiktionary.org
Midmost means in or nearest to the exact middle. en.wiktionary.org
Herman Melville wrote Pierre, first published in 1852. en.wikipedia.org
Pierre contains the exact phrase “the mid hour of night,” with mid preceding a noun. gutenberg.org
2
just okayadjectiveslang
Of only average or poor quality; unremarkable and disappointing.
Another summer of mid sequels has left audiences shrugging rather than angry.
The reviews were glowing, but the album itself is just mid: pleasant, forgettable, and over in forty minutes.
UsageBefore a noun (mid TV) or after a verb: the album is mid.
Similarmediocre, meh, average, forgettable, unremarkable
Oppositeamazing, excellent, great
Note
Its home was African-American Vernacular English and internet slang, but it has moved into mainstream criticism, where mid TV keeps turning up in titles: James Poniewozik's "The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV" (The New York Times, 2024) and Rachel Aroesti's 2025 headline about "AI slop and mid TV."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The evaluative sense originated in African-American Vernacular English and internet slang. en.wiktionary.org
James Poniewozik wrote The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV for The New York Times. lapressclub.org
Poniewozik's article appeared in 2024. en.wiktionary.org
Rachel Aroesti had a 2025 headline containing AI slop and mid TV. theguardian.com
3
nounarchaic
The middle part or point of something, in space or in time.
About the mid of night come to my tent.
c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third:”
Note
Old English had a noun midd, "midst, middle," beside the adjective mid, and both trace back to one Indo-European root. The noun is the one that takes of, as in "About the mid of night come to my tent" from Shakespeare's Richard the Third (1597); in the mid hour of night, by contrast, the word is the adjective. Modern prose says the middle of instead.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 7 facts
Old English had a noun midd meaning midst or middle. en.wiktionary.org
The adjective mid also descends from Old English midd. en.wiktionary.org
The noun and adjective share an Indo-European ancestor. en.wiktionary.org
Mid is a noun in the construction mid of night. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted words occur in Shakespeare's Richard the Third. folger.edu
The first publication was in 1597; c. 1593 is a composition date. shakespearedocumented.folger.edu
Mid is an adjective in mid hour of night. en.wiktionary.org
4
amongprepositionliterary
Used before a noun to mean amid: in the middle of, or surrounded by.
The old chapel stands mid the pines, half hidden from the road.
To shelter quivering natures, wrap them round / In downy softness, and impalace them / Mid fair magnificence, where all is found / Abundant as the longing heart can wish.
1855, Alexander Carlile, Poems
Note
Poets reach for it where everyday English says amid, and it is a syllable shorter: Alexander Carlile's Poems (1855) would "impalace them / Mid fair magnificence." In ordinary prose today it sounds deliberately old, so amid or among is the safer choice unless that period flavor is exactly what is wanted.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Mid has one fewer syllable than amid. en.wiktionary.org
Alexander Carlile's Poems was first published in 1855. gutenberg.org
Carlile's Poems contains the quoted wording and line break. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

5
vowel soundadjective
Of a vowel: pronounced with part of the tongue raised partway toward the palate, midway between high and low, as [e], [o], [ɛ] and [ɔ] are.
Italian keeps more mid vowels than Spanish, contrasting [e] with [ɛ] and [o] with [ɔ].
The vowel in 'bet' is a mid vowel, since the tongue rises higher than for 'bat' but not as high as for 'beat.'
Note
In phonetics the label usually comes in two finer grades. Close-mid, also called high-mid, covers [e] and [o], made with the tongue a little higher; open-mid, or low-mid, covers [ɛ] and [ɔ], made a little lower. Plain mid spans both grades, between close vowels like [i] and open vowels like [a], and it is the term to use when the difference does not matter.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Mid vowels are commonly subdivided into higher and lower grades. chau.ac.zm
Close-mid is also called high-mid, includes [e] and [o], and describes a higher tongue position. en.wikipedia.org
Open-mid is also called low-mid, includes [ɛ] and [ɔ], and describes a lower tongue position. en.wikipedia.org
In the broad classification, mid includes close-mid and open-mid vowels between high and low vowels. ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in
6
center area (games)nounslanguncountable
In online multiplayer games, the middle area of the battlefield.
Their sniper has been holding mid for the whole round.
Two of us will push through mid while the others guard the flag.
Similarmiddle, center
Note
Players treat the middle of the map as a place with its own name, so the noun goes without an article: hold mid, take mid, "We need to retake mid." In this use it has no plural, and it belongs to the quick talk of online play; outside a match, ordinary English still says the middle.
7
to center (games)adverbslang
In online multiplayer games, to or into the middle of the battlefield.
Rotate mid as soon as the round starts and cover the doors.
Their healer keeps drifting mid when she should stay back with the group.
Note
As a direction word it works the way home or upstairs does: it follows a verb of motion with no to and no the in between, as in "Everyone head mid." That bare position is what makes it an adverb. The gamer's noun names a place you hold or retake; this one says where you are going.
8
noun
In disc golf, a mid-range disc, one made for throws of middle distance.
9
preposition
Used in place of with in writing that imitates German-accented English.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–7

Old English midd ("mid, middle, midway") was passed down into Middle English as mid or midde. Earlier stages are Proto-West Germanic *midi and Proto-Germanic *midjaz ("mid, middle"), and further back is Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, meaning "between, in the middle, middle". Dutch midden, German Mitte, Icelandic miður and Latin medius are relatives. Words like middling and midwit may have shaped the slang sense.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 10 facts

Old English midd, meaning mid, middle or midway, passed into Middle English as mid or midde. en.wiktionary.org
Old English midd descends from Proto-West Germanic *midi. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-West Germanic *midi descends from Proto-Germanic *midjaz. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *midjaz meant mid or middle and descends from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos. en.wiktionary.org
*médʰyos is a reconstructed ancestor, but is itself derived from earlier elements, including *me. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch midden is related to English mid. en.wiktionary.org
German Mitte is related to English mid. en.wiktionary.org
Icelandic miður is related to English mid. en.wiktionary.org
Latin medius is related to English mid. en.wiktionary.org
Middling and midwit may have influenced the slang sense. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 3

The Old English noun midd ("midst, middle") became Middle English mid or midde. It comes from Proto-Germanic *midją, *midjǭ or *midjô ("middle, center"), and in the end from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, meaning "between, in the middle, middle". German Mitte, Danish midje and Icelandic miðja are relatives, and median and Latin mediānus are worth comparing.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

Old English midd was a noun meaning “midst, middle” and became Middle English mid or midde. en.wiktionary.org
The noun derives from Proto-Germanic *midją, *midjǭ or *midjô, meaning “middle, center”. en.wiktionary.org
Its ultimate source is Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, glossed “between, in the middle, middle”. en.wiktionary.org
German Mitte is a cognate. en.wiktionary.org
Danish midje is a cognate. en.wiktionary.org
Icelandic miðja is a cognate. en.wiktionary.org
English median and Latin mediānus are etymologically related comparanda. en.wiktionary.org