middle

Universal Words noun, adjective noun 1 (the middle) [sing.] the part of sth that is at an equal distance from all its edges or sides; a point or a period of time between the beginning and the end of sth: a lake with an island in the middle * He was standing in the middle of the room. * The phone rang in the middle of the night. * This chicken isn't cooked in the middle. * His picture was right / bang (= exactly) in the middle of the front page. * I have a pain in the middle of my back. * Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. * I should have finished by the middle of the week. * You can't leave in the middle of the meeting! * I like a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. * When they quarrel, I am often caught in the middle. 2 [C,usually sing.] (informal) a person's waist: He grabbed her around the middle. * I've put on weight around the middle. IDIOMS be in the middle of sth / of doing sth to be busy doing sth: They were in the middle of dinner when I called * I'm in the middle of writing a difficult letter. the middle of nowhere (informal) a place that is a long way from other buildings, towns, etc: She lives on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. split / divide sth down the middle to divide sth into two equal parts: The country was split down the middle over the strike (= half supported it, half did not). moreatPIGn. adjective [onlybeforenoun] in a position in the middle of an object, group of objects, people, etc. between the beginning and the end of sth: Pens are kept in the middle drawer. * She's the middle child of three. * He was very successful in his middle forties. * a middle-sized room * the middle-income groups in society IDIOMS (steer, take, etc.) a middle course