middling
/ˈmɪdlɪŋ/
"middling" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“middling” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,250 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #36,250
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of intermediate or average size, position, or quality; mediocre.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | middling |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈmɪdlɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #36,250 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “middling” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for middling is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɪdlɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,250 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for middling, with forms such as "imddling", "mdidling", and "middilng". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "milling", "minding", "midline", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is probably from middle (noun) + -ing; the adjective is most likely derived from the noun, and the adverb from the adjective. The correct English form is middling, spelled M-I-D-D-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Of intermediate or average size, position, or quality; mediocre.
- 2In fairly good health.
Etymology
The noun is probably from middle (noun) + -ing; the adjective is most likely derived from the noun, and the adverb from the adjective.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: imddling,mdidling,middilng,middlign,middlingg,middlinng,middlling,middlnig,midlding,midling,mmiddling
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of middling - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "middling"?
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Using “middling”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-D-D-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɪdlɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “milling” - see the side-by-side comparison. middling vs milling
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.