- medium
- [[t]mi͟ːdiəm[/t]]
♦♦♦mediums, media(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) ADJ: usu ADJ n 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.
2) ADJ: usu ADJ n 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.
ADV: ADV adjMedium is also an adverb.Cook under a medium-hot grill.
3) COMB in COLOUR 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...
When violet is added to the medium blue a particularly striking, warm coloration is created.
4) N-COUNT 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.
5) N-COUNT 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.
6) N-COUNT 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.7) → See also media8) PHRASE: PHR after v 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...
It's very difficult to strike a happy medium and make it right for everybody.
English dictionary. 2008.
