ENGLISH
REFERENCE

mid

adj. · n. · prep.
US //ˈmɪd// UK //mˈɪd// mid
  1. 1 middle position (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    being in the middle of something.

    occupying a middle position in space, time, or a sequence.

    Example

    The mid-morning sun was already quite hot by ten o'clock.

    Example

    The company released its mid-year financial report, showing a steady increase in revenue despite the challenging market conditions.

    Usage

    Often used as a prefix or in hyphenated compounds like 'mid-August' or 'mid-range'.
  2. 2 mediocre or average (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Informal

    not very good; just okay or boring.

    of mediocre or middling quality; neither excellent nor terrible.

    Example

    I thought the new movie was pretty mid, to be honest.

    Example

    Despite the massive marketing campaign, most critics dismissed the album as mid, noting a lack of original production.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is very common in internet culture and among younger speakers; it is often used as a mild insult for something disappointing.
  3. 3 vowel sound (adj.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    a sound made with the tongue in the middle of the mouth.

    produced with the tongue positioned midway between the roof of the mouth and the floor.

    Example

    The letter 'e' in 'met' is an example of a mid vowel.

    Example

    Phonetic analysis reveals that the speaker uses a slightly higher mid vowel than is typical for this specific regional dialect.
  4. 4 middle of a battlefield (n.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Computing

    the center area of a map in a video game.

    the central lane or area of the map in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games.

    Example

    Our team needs to defend mid before the enemy reaches the base.

    Example

    The player successfully controlled mid for the duration of the match, preventing the opposing team from coordinating their attacks.
  5. 5 among or during (prep.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary Archaic

    in the middle of an event or a place.

    in the middle of; amid.

    Example

    He stood mid the falling leaves in the quiet park.

    Example

    Mid the confusion of the retreating army, the young officer struggled to maintain order among his remaining troops.
Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European médʰyos ("between, in the middle"), through Proto-Germanic midjaz and Proto-West Germanic midi, into Old English midd and Middle English mid, midde. Cognates include Dutch midden, German Mitte, Icelandic miður, and Latin medius. The slang sense, denoting something mediocre or unremarkable, appears to be a recent formation influenced by middling and midwit*.

Etymology 2

From Old English midd, a noun meaning "midst" or "middle", descended through Proto-Germanic midją from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos. The German cognate Mitte preserves the same root.

Etymology 3

Clipping of mid-range.

Etymology 4

From or representing German mit, and/or perhaps German Low German mid. Although Middle English had a native preposition mid with this same meaning ("with"), it had fallen out of general use by the mid 1400s and survived into the modern English period only in sporadic use and the compounds midwife and theremid.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated July 9, 2026