middle ground

noun

A compromised position between extremes.

“Politicians must often find a middle ground to pass laws.”

Meanings

nounmiddle ground (countable and uncountable, plural middle grounds)

plural middle grounds · alternative middle-ground

  1. countablefigurativelyuncountableA compromised position between extremes.

    Politicians must often find a middle ground to pass laws.

    3 more examples

    But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which [Justin] Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days).

    2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2020

    " [...] I want to work with the unions, I want to listen to their demands. We're not always going to agree, of course, but they want public ownership of the railways to work, and we want public ownership of the railways to work, so actually there's a middle ground here."

    2022 April 6, Conrad Landin, “ScotRail in the public eye...”, in RAIL, number 954, page 40

    This is not a land of blowouts. It’s a middle ground, and that’s reflected in voter registration rolls. Nearly 2.6 million North Carolinians declare themselves unaffiliated, while just over 2.4 million identify as Democrats and just under 2.2 million as Republicans. We don’t tilt. We teeter.

    2023 May 4, Frank Bruni, “Republicans Are Running Wild in My State”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2023
  2. countableuncountableartThe middle distance.

Synonyms & antonyms

Translations

Dutch compromis, middenweg
  • compromiscompromise position between extremes
  • middenwegcompromise position between extremes
Finnish keskitie, välimaasto
  • keskitiecompromise position between extremes
  • välimaastocompromise position between extremes
  • keskialamiddle distance
French compromis, juste milieu
  • compromiscompromise position between extremes
  • juste milieucompromise position between extremes
  • milieucompromise position between extremes
Irish meánionad, meánraon
  • meánionadmiddle distance
  • meánraonmiddle distance
Persian موضع میانه, حد وسط
  • موضع میانه (moze'-e miyâne)compromise position between extremes
  • حد وسط (hadd-e vasat)middle distance
Polish kompromis, rozwiązanie kompromisowe
  • kompromiscompromise position between extremes
  • rozwiązanie kompromisowecompromise position between extremes
  • płaszczyzna porozumieniacompromise position between extremes
  • środekmiddle distance
  • centrummiddle distance
Portuguese meio-termo
  • meio-termocompromise position between extremes
Spanish medianía, medio término
  • medianíacompromise position between extremes
  • medio términocompromise position between extremes
  • punto / término medio / intermedio / medialcompromise position between extremes
Swedish medelväg
  • medelvägcompromise position between extremes
Turkish orta yol
  • orta yolcompromise position between extremes
Cite this entry
APA

middle ground. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middle%20ground

MLA

“middle ground.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middle%20ground. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “middle ground,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/middle%20ground.

Source: middle ground on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.