mid·dle-of-the-road
ˈmi-dᵊl-əv-ṯẖə-ˈrōd 
: standing for or following a course of action midway between extremes
especially
: being neither liberal nor conservative in politics
: a course of action or a standpoint midway between extremes
Synonyms
Examples of middle-of-the-road in a Sentence
Adjective
a candidate with middle-of-the-road views on most hot-button issues
Recent Examples on the Web
Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2024
Only the emergence of even more extreme versions of Hindu nationalism allowed Vajpayee’s position to come across as middle-of-the-road.
Take Vajpayee’s reaction in 1992, when a mob aligned with the BJP destroyed a sixteenth-century mosque in the town of Ayodhya, in North India.
—Kanchan Chandra, Foreign Affairs, 23 Nov. 2018
Underworld figures who knew the younger Castro described him as a middle-of-the-road presence who never seemed to make trouble.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
Can Trump defend himself in a way that doesn’t alienate middle-of-the-road voters?
July 15-18: The next signposts are the conventions.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 31 May 2024
Read Next: How to Correctly Net Trophy Fish A great middle-of-the-road outfit would be a medium-heavy baitcasting rod in the 7- to 7-foot, 6-inch length.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 18 Apr. 2024
Occasionally, Biden's middle-of-the-road approach led to seemingly contradictory actions.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Neither prudish nor, for the most part, smutty, the love scenes come straight out of middle-of-the-road romance novels.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Now, both are trying to smooth their hard edges to win over the middle-of-the-road voters who will likely decide the victor in the Arizona Senate race -- and, possibly, control of the entire chamber.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 17 Apr. 2024
While his regular season offensive performance has been middle of the road, averaging 9.4 points per game, Butler was named the Mountain West conference defensive player of the year.
—Jordan Ruttert, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Video obtained by The Washington Post shows Ramy stepping out into the middle of the road with a lighted firework aimed skyward.
—Sufian Taha, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
That meant the driver was toward the middle of the road and the wagon to the right.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024
Especially in retrospect, Audi’s freshman effort was an innocuous offering that seemed laser-targeted at precisely the middle of the road.
—Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2024
The Broncos have been a bottom-half passing offense this season and, at best, middle of the road by most other measures.
—Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
Logs that were placed in the road in an apparent vigilante effort to stop more RVs from parking have simply been pushed into the middle of the road.
—Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Most of these ballet flats are over $100, which is more middle of the road in terms of ballet flat prices.
—Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 28 July 2023
Adjective
Questions about Middle East politics and the Israel-Gaza conflict dovetailed with the discussion about taking more middle-of-the-road positions at times.
—Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2024
Only the emergence of even more extreme versions of Hindu nationalism allowed Vajpayee’s position to come across as middle-of-the-road.
Take Vajpayee’s reaction in 1992, when a mob aligned with the BJP destroyed a sixteenth-century mosque in the town of Ayodhya, in North India.
—Kanchan Chandra, Foreign Affairs, 23 Nov. 2018
Underworld figures who knew the younger Castro described him as a middle-of-the-road presence who never seemed to make trouble.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
Can Trump defend himself in a way that doesn’t alienate middle-of-the-road voters?
July 15-18: The next signposts are the conventions.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 31 May 2024
Read Next: How to Correctly Net Trophy Fish A great middle-of-the-road outfit would be a medium-heavy baitcasting rod in the 7- to 7-foot, 6-inch length.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 18 Apr. 2024
Occasionally, Biden's middle-of-the-road approach led to seemingly contradictory actions.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Neither prudish nor, for the most part, smutty, the love scenes come straight out of middle-of-the-road romance novels.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Now, both are trying to smooth their hard edges to win over the middle-of-the-road voters who will likely decide the victor in the Arizona Senate race -- and, possibly, control of the entire chamber.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Noun phrase
What to Consider The weight is middle of the road for a backpack this size.
—Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 17 Apr. 2024
While his regular season offensive performance has been middle of the road, averaging 9.4 points per game, Butler was named the Mountain West conference defensive player of the year.
—Jordan Ruttert, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Video obtained by The Washington Post shows Ramy stepping out into the middle of the road with a lighted firework aimed skyward.
—Sufian Taha, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
That meant the driver was toward the middle of the road and the wagon to the right.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024
Especially in retrospect, Audi’s freshman effort was an innocuous offering that seemed laser-targeted at precisely the middle of the road.
—Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2024
The Broncos have been a bottom-half passing offense this season and, at best, middle of the road by most other measures.
—Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
Logs that were placed in the road in an apparent vigilante effort to stop more RVs from parking have simply been pushed into the middle of the road.
—Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Most of these ballet flats are over $100, which is more middle of the road in terms of ballet flat prices.
—Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 28 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'middle-of-the-road.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near middle-of-the-road
Cite this Entry
“Middle-of-the-road.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle-of-the-road. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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