medium

I. me‧di‧um¹ S3 AC /ˈmiːdiəm/ BrE AmE adjective
1. of middle size, level, or amount:
What size shirt does he wear – small, medium or large?
(of) medium height/length/build
She’s of medium height.
hair of medium length
Fry the onions over a medium heat until they are golden.
medium to large companies
► Use average, not ‘medium’, when you want to say that someone’s level of skill or ability is neither high nor low: students of average ability (NOT students of medium ability)
2. (also medium rare) meat that is medium or medium rare is partly cooked but still slightly pink inside ⇨ rare, well-done
3. medium dry medium dry wine is slightly sweeter than dry wine
4. medium brown/blue etc a colour which is neither light nor dark:
His jacket’s a medium brown colour.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

medium

me·dium AW [medium mediums] adjective, noun [ˈmiːdiəm] [ˈmiːdiəm]

adjective usually before noun (abbr. M)
in the middle between two sizes, amounts, lengths, temperatures, etc.
Syn: average
• a medium-size car/business/town
• a man of medium height/build
• There are three sizes— small, medium and large.
• a medium steak (= one cooked quite well but not too much)
• Cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes.
• a medium dry white wine
• Choose medium to large tomatoes.
see in the long/short/medium term at term
Word Origin:

late 16th cent. (originally denoting something intermediate in nature or degree): from Latin, literally middle, neuter of medius.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

medium / ˈmiː.di.əm / adjective (MIDDLE)

B1 being in the middle between an upper and lower amount, size, degree, or value:

a girl of medium height

a medium-sized book

medium / ˈmiː.di.əm / adjective (MEAT)

(of meat) cooked so that it is no longer red in the middle:

Would you like your steak rare, medium, or well-done?

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

medium

/mi:diəm/
(mediums, media)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

Note: The plural of the noun can be either 'mediums' or 'media' for meanings 4 and 5. The form 'mediums' is the plural for meaning 6.

1.
If something is of medium size, it is neither large nor small, but approximately half way between the two.
A medium dose produces severe nausea within hours...
He was of medium height with blond hair and light blue eyes.
ADJ: usu ADJ n

2.
You use medium to describe something which is average in degree or amount, or approximately half way along a scale between two extremes.
Foods that contain only medium levels of sodium are bread, cakes, milk, butter and margarine.
...a sweetish, medium-strength beer.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
•
Medium is also an adverb.
Cook under a medium-hot grill.
ADV: ADV adj

3.
If something is of a medium colour, it is neither light nor dark, but approximately half way between the two.
Andrea has medium brown hair, grey eyes and very pale skin...
COMB in COLOUR

4.
A medium is a way or means of expressing your ideas or of communicating with people.
In Sierra Leone, English is used as the medium of instruction for all primary education...
But Artaud was increasingly dissatisfied with film as a medium.
N-COUNT

5.
A medium is a substance or material which is used for a particular purpose or in order to produce a particular effect.
Blood is the medium in which oxygen is carried to all parts of the body...
Hyatt has found a way of creating these qualities using the more permanent medium of oil paint.
N-COUNT

6.
A medium is a person who claims to be able to contact and speak to people who are dead, and to pass messages between them and people who are still alive.
N-COUNT

7.
see also media

8.
If you strike or find a happy medium between two extreme and opposite courses of action, you find a sensible way of behaving that is somewhere between the two extremes.
I still aim to strike a happy medium between producing football that’s worth watching and getting results...
PHRASE: PHR after v

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

medium

²medium adj
1 : in the middle of a range of possible sizes, amounts, etc.
• These T-shirts are available in three sizes: small, medium, and large.
• a person of medium build/height/weight
• a medium blue [=a blue that is neither very light nor very dark]
2 of meat : cooked to a point that is between rare and well-done
• How would you like your steak, sir: rare, medium, or well-done?
✦Meat that is medium rare is cooked to a point between rare and medium, while meat that is medium well is cooked to a point between medium and well-done.
- medium adv
• He likes his steak cooked medium.