1
: of middle, medium, or moderate size, degree, or quality
2
3
: of, relating to, or being a middle class
middling
adverb
1
: any of various commodities of intermediate size, quality, or position
2
middlings plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: a granular product of grain milling
especially
: a wheat milling by-product used in animal feeds
Examples of middling in a Sentence
Adjective
tired of the city but not particularly interested in small-town life, he moved to a suburb of middling size
was disappointed in the renowned historian's latest book, which is only middling
Recent Examples on the Web
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Many technology firms have been piling AI features onto existing stacks, showing middling results.
—Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 29 July 2025
As with the other drills, the results ranged from middling (that was mine) to quite good.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for middling
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Adjective
Los Angeles has already gone through two months of middling offensive production, even with Smith producing well enough to contend for the batting title.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Many technology firms have been piling AI features onto existing stacks, showing middling results.
—Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
To the end of the 2023-24 season, Liverpool owed a net £69.9m in transfer fees to other clubs, by far the lowest transfer debt of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ and pretty much middling across the division.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 29 July 2025
As with the other drills, the results ranged from middling (that was mine) to quite good.
—Dan Morrison, USA Today, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for middling
Cite this Entry
“Middling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middling. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
middling
1 of 2 adjective
mid·dling
ˈmid-liŋ 
-lən
: of medium size, degree, or quality
middling
adverb
middling
2 of 2 noun1
: any of various products of medium quality or size
2
plural
: a product produced by milling grain
especially
: a product of wheat milling that is used in animal feeds
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