Word.ws English Dictionary

medium

/ˈmiː.di.əm/

medium noun: the material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.

Noun (1)

medium (plural media or mediums)

  1. The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
  2. The materials or empty space through which signals, waves, or forces pass.
    • VVhether any other Liquours, being made Mediums, cauſe a Diuerſity of Sound from Water, it may bee tried: […]1631, Francis [Bacon], “III. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching the Medium of Sounds.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William...
    • He’s old and jealous, apt for ſuſpitions, ’gainſt which Tyrants ears
      Are never clos’d. The Prince is young,
      Fierce, and ambitious, I muſt bring together
      All theſe extreams, and then remove all Mediums,
      That each may be the others object.1641 (first performance), [John Denham], The Sophy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act II, page 18
  3. A format for communicating or presenting information.
    • [A]t all events, she drank in with eager ear, and admiring mind, anecdote and history of all those excellent traits of disposition, and nobleness of conduct, which made him the idol of his describer, and gave her a knowledge of his temper and character, and the manner in which his boyhood and youth...1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 272
    • Too often writing—in the broadest sense—is treated as a communicational medium where the subjects of that communication are constituted prior to the writing, where the objects of that communication are also constituted prior to that writing, and where the task of writing is seen as transparently...2015, “Staging the Politics of Difference: Homi Bhabha's Critical Literacy, Gary A. Olson and Lynn Worsham.”, in Gary A. Olson, Lynn Worsham, Henry A. Giroux, editors, Politics of Possibility...
    Synonyms:
    vehicle
  4. A nutrient substance, commonly a solution or solid, for the growth of cells in vitro.
    • In some instances one can take advantage of differential carbohydrate fermentation capabilities of microorganisms by incorporating one or more carbohydrates in the medium along with a suitable pH indicator. Such media are called differential media (e.g., eosin methylene blue or MacConkey agar) and...1996, Samuel Baron, editor, Medical Microbiology
  5. (usually) A substance, structure, or environment in which living organisms subsist, grow or are cultured.
    • The density of the living medium of fishes exerts upon them a mechanical influence; they are, so to say, balanced in water, free to proceed in all planes of direction...1895, Bashford Dean., Fishes, Living and Fossil
  6. A means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on, or by which an aim is achieved.
    • Cable TV is an inexpensive advertising medium.
    • His loyalty to the English was doubtful and wavering, and his opposition to Post's journey was probably due to fears that his own importance as a medium between the Ohio Indians and the English would be diminished by the former's success.2007, Reuben Gold Thwaites, Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Reprint Services Corporation, →ISBN, page 186
  7. The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting process.
  8. (countable, plural mediums or media) A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.
  9. (painting) A means of expression, in the arts, such as a material (oil, pastel, clay, etc) or method or style (expressionism, jazz, etc).
    • Acrylics, oils, charcoal, and gouache are all mediums I used in my painting.
    • Heretofore in following the course, the student has been confined to black and white in the medium of charcoal, pen and ink or pencil. The first introduction to color is by means of the Still Life painting class.1898, Report of the Public Schools of the State of Missouri, Missouri: Department of Education, page 98
  10. (countable) The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into connection.
  11. (countable, plural mediums or (rare, nonstandard) media) Someone who conveys information from the spirit world.
    • The hall was not too well lit and dark shadows lurked in the corners. The medium still bent her head as if her ears were straining.1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Which Describes an Evening in Strange Company”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019
  12. (countable) A middle place or degree.
    • a happy medium
    • [T]he Just Medium of This Case lies betwixt the Pride, and the Abjection of the Two Extreams.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Anianus, &c.] Fab[le] 215. An Oak and a Willow, Reflexion.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC...
  13. (countable, dated) An average; sometimes the mathematical mean.
    • The number of Britiſh ſhips annually arriving in our ports vvas reduced to 1756 ſail, containing 92.559 tons, on a medium of the ſix years vvar, compared vvith the ſix years of peace preceding it.1769, [Edmund Burke], Observations on a Late State of the Nation, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 5
  14. Anything of a middle rank or position.
    • Cavalry […] is divided into mediums, heavies, and light cavalry.1891, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, The Historic Note-book: With an Appendix of Battles, page 153

Noun (2)

medium (countable and uncountable, plural mediums)

  1. (especially, noun-from-verb, uncountable, food or drink) One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a large but larger than a small.
    Synonyms:
    M
  2. (countable, especially, noun-from-verb, food or drink) An item labelled or denoted as being that size.
  3. (countable, especially, noun-from-verb) One who fits an item of that size.
  4. (Ireland, countable, dated, informal, noun-from-verb) A half-pint serving of Guinness (or other stout in some regions).

Adjective

medium (not comparable)

  1. (noun-from-verb, obsolete) Arithmetically average.
  2. (noun-from-verb) Of intermediate size, degree, amount etc.
  3. (noun-from-verb) Of meat, cooked to a point greater than rare but less than well done; typically, so the meat is still red in the centre.
  4. (especially, noun-from-verb, food or drink) That is medium (the manufactured size).

Adverb

medium (not comparable)

  1. (noun-from-verb) To a medium extent.
    Synonyms:
    mediumly

medium meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

medium in Hindi

nature of the surrounding environment
माध्यम mādhyam
material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass
माध्यम mādhyam
format for communicating or presenting information
माध्यम mādhyam
means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved
माध्यम mādhyam

medium in Tamil

ஊடகம், நடுத்தர அளவு

medium in Urdu

a medium; an instrument
واسطہ vāsita
medium
دوار dvār

medium in Bengali

nature of the surrounding environment
মারফত marfot
More languagesFewer languages
medium in Telugu
మాధ్యమము mādhyamamu, మధ్యస్తం madhyastaṁ
medium in Malayalam
മാദ്ധ്യമം māddhyamaṁ
medium in Kannada
ಮಧ್ಯಮ, ಮಧ್ಯಸ್ಥ ಗುಣದ್ದು, ಮಧ್ಯಮತರದ್ದು, ಎಡತರ
medium in Punjabi
ਸਾਧਨ sādhan
medium in Gujarati
સાધન sādhan
medium in Odia
ମଧ୍ଯ଼ମ, ମାଧ୍ଯ଼ମ
medium in Assamese
মাজু mazu
medium in Nepali
माध्यम
medium in Tagalog
talaytayan
medium in Arabic
مُتَوَسِّط mutawassiṭ
medium in Indonesian
perantara, cenayang, sedang, tanggung
medium in Persian
مدیوم mediom
medium in Myanmar
လတ် lat

Examples of medium in a sentence

  • It was the woodcut, however, that emerged as the favorite graphic medium of Expressionism.1966, John P. Sedgwick, Discovering Modern Art: The Intelligent Layman's Guide to Painting from Impressionism to Pop:
  • Her height was pretty, […] her figure particularly graceful; her size a most becoming medium, between fat and thin, […]1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for...
  • But the principle always failed us by some curious fatality, and we never could hit any medium between redness and cinders.1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, “Our Housekeeping”, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […]...

All 40 example sentences with medium

Synonyms of medium

Forms of medium

pluralmedia
pluralmediums

Plural of medium: media or mediums

Origin of medium

Borrowed from Latin medium, neuter of medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”). Compare middle. Doublet of mid, medio, media, and meson.

Words formed from medium

Phrases with medium

13 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with medium

Questions about medium

What does medium mean?
Medium means the material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
What is medium in Hindi?
Medium in Hindi is माध्यम (mādhyam). See Medium meaning in Hindi.
How do you use medium in a sentence?
It was the woodcut, however, that emerged as the favorite graphic medium of Expressionism.
What part of speech is medium?
Medium can be a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
How do you pronounce medium?
Medium is pronounced /ˈmiː.di.əm/.
What is the plural of medium?
The plural of medium is media.

Words near medium in the dictionary

  1. Medithermal
  2. meditomedine
  3. meditomidine
  4. Meditrina
  5. Meditrinalia
  6. medium
  7. medium artillery
  8. medium dead
  9. medium drink
  10. medium drinks
  11. medium dry

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: medium (page history and authors); medium (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); دوار (Urdu) (page history and authors); മാദ്ധ്യമം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); medium (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਸਾਧਨ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); સાધન (Gujarati) (page history and authors); medium (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); মাজু (Assamese) (page history and authors); medium (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-medium.ogg.

Cite this entry: “medium.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/medium. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.