Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - middle

~1 n 1 the middle a) the part that is furthest from the sides, edges, or ends  (a seat in the middle of the front row | Here's a photo of us on holiday - that's me in the middle. | right in the middle/right down the middle etc)  (The other car was driving right in the middle of the road. | Going through the middle of Tokyo in the rushhour can be a nightmare.) b) the part that is between the beginning and the end of an event, story, period etc  (Why don't we meet sometime in the middle of the week? | She started to feel sick in the middle of the exam. | I arrived in Athens in the middle of a heatwave.) c) the position or rank that is between the highest and the lowest position in a list of people or things  (Janine graduated top of the class and I finished somewhere around the middle.) d) the inside part of an object such as a ball, or piece of fruit  (Urgh! There's a maggot in the middle of this apple!) 2 be in the middle of (doing sth) to be busy doing something  (Can I call you back - I'm in the middle of a meeting. | She was just in the middle of getting the dinner ready.) 3 C usually singular informal the waist and the part of the body around the stomach  (Nick seems to be getting a bit fat round his middle.) 4 in the middle of nowhere a long way from the nearest town or from any interesting places  (So there we were, in the middle of nowhere, and out of gas.) 5 divide/split sth down the middle to divide something into equal halves or groups  (The votes are divided right down the middle on this issue.)  (- see also piggy in the middle piggy1 (2)) ~2 adj only before noun 1 nearest the centre, especially of a row, list, or group of things or people  (the middle house in a row of five | Two of his middle front teeth were missing. | the middle drawer of the filing cabinet) 2 halfway through an event or period of time  (They spent the middle part of their vacation in Florida.) 3 in your middle twenties/thirties etc about 25, 35 etc years old 4 middle brother/child/daughter etc the brother etc who is between the oldest and the youngest 5 middle course/way etc a way of dealing with something that is between two opposite and often extreme ways  (The administration is trying to follow a middle course on health care reform.) 6 Middle English/French etc an old form of English, French etc, used in the Middle Ages (=between 1100 and 1500 AD)  (- see also middle finger, middle name)