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
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 5 June 2025
And Paul Mescal has managed to become a target of heartthrob-hunting paparazzi while being taken seriously as a thespian — even as the middling Gladiator II left his movie-star bona fides in question.
—Zak Cheney-Rice, Vulture, 2 June 2025
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
In a sense, the Kentucky Derby is to overall horse racing what the NCAA Tournament is to the men’s college basketball regular season: An anomalous cultural phenomenon that seems largely immune to the middling, at best, overall popularity of the underlying sport.
—Mark Story, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for middling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
But the film directed by future Amélie filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet received middling reviews from critics and failed to achieve the same box office performance of Scott's original or Cameron's sequel.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 5 June 2025
And Paul Mescal has managed to become a target of heartthrob-hunting paparazzi while being taken seriously as a thespian — even as the middling Gladiator II left his movie-star bona fides in question.
—Zak Cheney-Rice, Vulture, 2 June 2025
Noun
So much pain and loss has been inflicted on the Russian people through staggering war casualties that delivering middling to poor results might significantly limit the longevity of Russia’s leadership.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
In a sense, the Kentucky Derby is to overall horse racing what the NCAA Tournament is to the men’s college basketball regular season: An anomalous cultural phenomenon that seems largely immune to the middling, at best, overall popularity of the underlying sport.
—Mark Story, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 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 Jun. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share