midterm

M3I1D2T1E1R1M3
US/ˈmɪdˌtɚm/

adjective

Halfway through a term, or roughly so.

“I only got a C on the midterm, so I really have to study for the final.”

Similar
Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

adjectivemidterm (not comparable)

alternative mid-term

  1. not comparableHalfway through a term, or roughly so.

    The administration is suffering from the usual midterm drop in approval ratings.

    1 more example

    Most of the rational world . . . foresaw a smooth ride to victory for Democrats. They had, after all, the wind at their backs from the 2006 midterm elections.

    2008 April 23, Amy Sullivan, “A Primary with No End”, in TIME, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2014, retrieved 03 Jul 2015
nounmidterm (plural midterms)

plural midterms · alternative mid-term

  1. educationA midterm school exam (i.e., halfway through the term).

    I only got a C on the midterm, so I really have to study for the final.

    1 more example

    It was tough cramming for those midterms and finals, staying up 72 hours straight hepped up on caffeine and pizza.

    2005 April 13, Robert MacMillan, “Steal This Song”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 07 Sep 2008, retrieved 03 Oct 2008

    Synonyms: midterm examination

  2. governmentA midterm election.

    But White House officials have privately grown frustrated with her performance, as Republican midterm strategists raise alarms about the political damage.

    2026 February 13, Nick Miroff, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Michael Scherer, “Kristi Noem’s Audience of One”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC
    1 more example

    The AAPI electorate has become more politically engaged in recent election cycles, and although it is not a voting bloc that has historically shown strong support for Trump, growing skepticism toward him could influence key battlegrounds in the 2026 midterms and beyond.

    2025 July 27, Emma Marsden, “Donald Trump's Favorability Rating Falls With AAPI Adults”, in Newsweek, archived from the original on 29 Jul 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA midterm school exam (i.e., halfway through the term).

More synonyms by meaning

nounan examination administered in the middle of an academic term

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Germanic*midjaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*midi
  7. Old Englishmidd
  8. Middle Englishmid
  9. Englishmid
  10. Englishmid-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-?
  12. Proto-Indo-European*ter-?
  13. Proto-Indo-European*térmn̥
  14. Proto-Italic*termn̥
  15. Proto-Italic*term(e)nos
  16. Latinterminus
  17. Old Frenchterme
  18. Middle Englishterme
  19. Englishterm
  20. Englishmidterm

From mid- + term.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 期中, 中期
  • 期中 (qīzhōng)halfway through a term
  • 中期 (zhōngqī)halfway through a term
  • 期中考試 /期中考试 (qīzhōng kǎoshì)exam
Czech napůl cesty, v polovině
  • napůl cestyhalfway through a term
  • v poloviněhalfway through a term
Dutch tussentijds
  • tussentijdshalfway through a term
Finnish puoliväli, välikoe
  • puolivälihalfway through a term
  • välikoeexam
French mi-mandat, mi-session
  • mi-mandathalfway through a term
  • mi-sessionhalfway through a term
  • partielexam
German Mitte der Amtszeit, Mitte der Laufzeit
  • Mitte der Amtszeithalfway through a term
  • Mitte der Laufzeithalfway through a term
  • Mitte des Semestershalfway through a term
  • Zwischenprüfungexam
Hungarian félidős, évközi
  • félidőshalfway through a term
  • évközihalfway through a term
  • félévihalfway through a term
  • év közbenihalfway through a term
  • évközi/zárthelyi dolgozat/tesztexam
Icelandic kaflapróf
  • kaflaprófexam
Japanese 中間, 中間テスト
  • 中間 (chūkan)halfway through a term
  • 中間テスト (chūkan tesuto)exam
  • 中間試験 (chūkan shiken)exam
Korean 중간
  • 중간 (junggan)halfway through a term
Lithuanian kolokviumas
  • kolokviumasexam
Polish śródsemestralny, egzamin śródsemestralny
  • śródsemestralnyhalfway through a term
  • egzamin śródsemestralnyexam
Russian среднесро́чный
  • среднесро́чный (srednesróčnyj)halfway through a term
Spanish parcial, de medio término
  • parcialhalfway through a term
  • de medio términohalfway through a term
  • de medio ciclohalfway through a term
  • de medio semestrehalfway through a term
  • de medio periodohalfway through a term
  • de medio períodohalfway through a term
  • parcialexam
  • examen parcialexam
Turkish dönem ortası, orta vade
  • dönem ortasıhalfway through a term
  • orta vadehalfway through a term
  • sömestr ortasıhalfway through a term
  • ara sınavexam
  • vizeexam

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

midterm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midterm

MLA

“midterm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midterm. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “midterm,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midterm.

Source: midterm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.