Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The middle position or part; the center.
  • noun A position of proximity to others.
  • noun The condition of being surrounded or beset by something.
  • noun A period of time approximately in the middle of a continuing condition or act.
  • preposition Among; amid.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In the middle.
  • Amidst.
  • noun The middle; an interior or central part, point, or position.
  • noun Synonyms Amidst, In the midst of, etc. (see among); Center, etc. See middle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • preposition In the midst of; amidst.
  • adverb rare In the middle.
  • noun The interior or central part or place; the middle; -- used chiefly in the objective case after in.
  • noun Hence, figuratively, the condition of being surrounded or beset; the press; the burden

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A place (literal or metaphoric) in the middle of something.
  • preposition rare among, in the middle of

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the location of something surrounded by other things

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English middes, middest : alteration of Old English midde, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • In our midst is a rare individual who knows how to get things done.

    Clinton: I feel like the Goldilocks of this campaign 2008

  • To all of them, the removal of poverty from among their midst is a categorical imperative from which their governments and their leaders cannot escape.

    India—Today and Tomorrow 1961

  • But to accentuate the medievalisms in our midst is as deluding as trying to keep our Royal Mounted an army of lyrical "RoseMaries".

    Canada Finds Her Voice 1949

  • In the midst is a well where women in flowing drapery, with tall jars, draw water as if posing for Bible illustrations; and a camel market in which fifty or more of the brown, ungainly beasts have been relieved of their burdens and lain down for the night – doubled into uncomfortable heaps and bubbling and moaning with querulous discontent.

    In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World 1891

  • I live on a barren desart, which, wide and interminable, brings forth neither fruit or flower; in the midst is a solitary rock, to which thou, Perdita, art chained, and thou seest the dreary level stretch far away.

    I.8 1826

  • BSG had the nerve to do that, and do it baldly, in midst of a gritty human drama.

    Mind Meld Make-Up Test: Jeffrey A. Carver on BSG 2009

  • In our very midst is an element who seems to have no problem putting all of our rights at risk because of their lack of ethics while hunting.

    Hunting Rights Put in Jeopardy by Outlaws 2010

  • One of the Catholic artists in our midst is Daniel Mitsui, who operates a website, The Lion and the Cardinal and who also fashions bookplates and other art.

    Support Catholic Artists by Your Commissions 2009

  • But to wish that Muslims would condemn the violence in their midst is not bigotry but liberality, treating others as you would have them treat you.

    At Harvard, Groupthink About Islam Ruth R. Wisse 2010

  • Clinton and her colleagues at State can write all the strategy documents and policy reviews they want, but in midst of an economic crisis and exploding deficits, will they get the resources to see their vision come to life? lozadac@washpost.com

    A sneak peek at Hillary Clinton's new global strategy Carlos Lozada 2010

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