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
Synonyms
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
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
The trade more or less lived up to the middling expectations for Detroit initially.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 17 Oct. 2024
Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2022
Somewhere middling in the postmatch emotional spectrum was Victor Marks-Jenkins (157).
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for middling 
Adjective
With Carr still on the sideline against a stingy defense, even a middling Chargers offense should be able to generate enough points to get back in the win column.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024
The trade more or less lived up to the middling expectations for Detroit initially.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
Inevitably, many middling and smaller powers will straddle divides and seek to balance their ties to greater powers.
—Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2022
Somewhere middling in the postmatch emotional spectrum was Victor Marks-Jenkins (157).
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for middling
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'middling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near middling
Cite this Entry
“Middling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middling. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
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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