883
Middle East, the
some slides and looked at them under the microscope. →
compare TELESCOPE; see INSTRUMENT (USAGE)
mi-cro-scopic /maɪkrə'skɒpɪk || -'skær-/ adj 1 [A] by
means of a microscope: The scientist made a microscopic
examination of the dust from the prisoner's clothes. 2 infml
very small: It's impossible to read his microscopic handwrit-
ing. —ally /kli/ adv
mi-cro-sec-ond /'maɪkrəʊsekənd/ n one millionth of a
second
Mi-cro-soft /'maɪkrəʊsɒft || -sɔːft/ trademark a US company
which is one of the world's largest and most important
producers of computer SOFTWARE. It is known especially for
its Windows OPERATING SYSTEM, which is used on most
PERSONAL COMPUTERS, for Microsoft Word, a popular WORD-
PROCESSING program, and for Internet Explorer, a popular
program for searching the Internet. The company was
started by Bill GATES, who is still its chief director.
mi-cro-sur-ge-ry /'maɪkrəʊsɜːdʒəri || -sɜːr-/ n [U] medical
treatment in which a part of someone's body is repaired or
removed using very small instruments or LASERS
mi-cro-wave¹ /'maɪkrəweɪv/ n 1 a very short electric wave,
used in sending messages by radio, in RADAR, and especially
in cooking food 2 also microwave oven a type of OVEN that
uses microwaves to cook food. Microwave ovens are used in
FAST FOOD restaurants as they cook food very quickly. They
are also popular in the home for defrosting (DEFROST) and
cooking food. → see picture at KITCHEN
microwave² v [T] to cook in a microwave OVEN
mi-cro-wave-a-ble, microwavable /'maɪkrəweɪvəbəl/
adj (specially prepared to be) suitable for cooking in a micro-
wave OVEN
mid /mɪd/ prep poet among; in the middle of
mid- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
mid-air /mɪd'eər/ n [U] a point up in the air or the sky,
away from the ground: The planes collided in midair. | a
midair explosion caused by a terrorist bomb
Mi-das, King /'maɪdəs/ in ancient Greek stories, a king
who was given the power to change everything he touched
into gold. He soon realized this would not bring him
happiness, when he found that even his food and drink
changed into gold as soon as he touched them.
'midas touch, the n (often cap.) the ability to make money
out of any activity
,Mid At'lantic adj mid Atlantic accent a way of speaking
that uses a mixture of American and British sounds and
words
mid-day /mɪd'deɪ || 'mɪd-deɪ/ n [U] the middle of the day;
12 o'clock NOON: a meal at midday | a midday meal | the full
heat of the midday sun → compare MIDNIGHT
,midd ay 'meal n a meal eaten in the middle of the day
mid-den /'mɪdn/ n especially dial or tech a pile of waste matter,
especially from animals
mid-dle¹ /'mɪdl/ adj [A] in or nearly in the centre; at the
same distance from two or more points, or from the begin-
ning and end of something: Ours is the middle house in that
row of five. | a country of middle size | middle-ranking army
officers
middle² v [T] to hit (a shot) properly with the middle of the
BAT in cricket
Middle adj [only before n] (of a language) of a form that
developed from an earlier stage, and into a later stage:
Middle French was spoken from about AD 1300 to 1600 →
compare MODERN¹, OLD
middle, the n ([S,U@on]) 1 the central part, point, or position:
Here's a photo of him with his brothers; he's the one in the
middle. | a rosetree in the middle of the garden | This bill must
be paid not later than the middle of the month. 2 infml the
waist or the part below the waist: He's getting fatter round
the middle. 3 in the middle of busy with: Can I call you back
later – I'm in the middle of lunch.
Compare centre and middle. Centre is similar to
middle but it usually suggests an exact physical point: the
centre of the circle. Middle is used when you cannot be
so exact: the middle of the forest. Middle is more usual
when thinking of things as lines rather than areas: He was
driving along the middle of the road and when talking
about rows of objects or people: Eve was on the left, Bill
was on the right and Tom was in the middle. Only
middle can be used to talk about time: in the middle of
the day/night.
,middle 'age n [U] the period of life between youth and old
age —middle-aged adj: He's only 24, but he behaves as if he's
already middle-aged.
CULTURAL NOTE Middle age is usually considered to be
from around age 40 to around age 60. Many people in
their 30s do not want to become middle-aged, because
when you are 40 you are no longer considered to be
young, and middle-aged people are often thought of by
younger people as being boring and old-fashioned in their
attitudes and way of life.
,middle-aged 'spread also midriff bulge especially AmE —
n [U] often humor the fatness round the waist which many
people get as they grow older
,Middle 'Ages n [the P] the period in European history
between about AD 1100 and 1500. The Middle Ages are
sometimes thought of as starting in about AD 500, after the
end of the Roman Empire, but this earlier period from 500
to 1100 is usually called the 'Dark Ages' or the 'Early Middle
Ages'.
CULTURAL NOTE In Western Europe, the Middle Ages were
a time when Christianity was very important and the
Roman Catholic Church had great influence on people's
lives and on the way society was organized. It was also
the period when most of the great CATHEDRALS (=large
important churches) were built. The only people who
could read and write were rich and powerful people, and
MONKS. Society was organized in a FEUDAL system. The
Middle Ages were also a time of many PLAGUES (serious
infectious illnesses that killed many people), especially the
Black Death. → see also CRUSADES, DARK AGES,
FEUDALISM
,Middle A'merica n [U] 1 the ordinary citizens of the US,
people who are neither very poor nor very rich, and who are
usually fairly CONSERVATIVE (=traditional and perhaps rather
old-fashioned) in their way of life and in their beliefs about
morality, education, hard work etc: a speech about 'family
values', designed to appeal to Middle America → compare
MIDDLE ENGLAND 2 the MIDWEST of the US
mid-dle-brow /'mɪdlbra/ n sometimes derog a person who
likes music, painting, poetry etc that is of quite good quality
and is liked by lots of other people but is not too difficult to
understand → compare HIGHBROW, LOWBROW
—middlebrow adj
,middle 'C n the musical note that is shown on the first
additional line below the STAVE in the TREBLE CLEF and the
first additional line above the stave in the BASS CLEF
,middle 'class also middle classes pl. — n [the S+sing./pl. v]
the social class to which people belong who are neither
noble, very wealthy etc nor workers with their hands,
usually consisting of business or professional people, some
farmers, and skilled workers: a member of the middle class/
classes → compare LOWER CLASS, UPPER CLASS, WORKING
CLASS
middle-class adj 1 belonging to or typical of the middle
class 2 derog MATERIALISTIC or unadventurous: bourgeois
middle-class ideas
'middle course n [S] BrE a course of action which is halfway
between two very different ones (especially in the phrases
follow/take/steer a/the middle course): a middle course
between liberalism and conservatism
,middle-'distance adj [A] (in sport) over a distance that is
neither very short nor very long, specifically the 800 metres
and 1500 metres runs and the 3000 metres STEEPLECHASE: a
middle-distance race/runner
middle distance, the the part of a picture or view
between what is close to the looker (FOREGROUND) and what
is farthest away (background)
,Middle 'East, the the countries of SW Asia and N Africa,
around the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea, from Libya
to Iran and including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria,
M