midway
/mɪdweɪ/noun, adjective, adverb
midway is spelled M-I-D-W-A-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, midway means “The middle; the midst” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of midway is midways.
How many letters and syllables are in midway?
| Letters | 6: M-I-D-W-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is midway?
Midway appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce midway?
- /mɪdweɪ/
Midway has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-midway.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of midway
- midways plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does midway mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The middle; the midst.
- 2
A middle way or manner; a mean or middle path between extremes.
- 3
USThe part of a fair or circus where rides, entertainments, and booths are concentrated.
- 4
USThe widest aisle in the middle of an industrial complex (such as railroad shops or a coach yard) along which various buildings are aligned.
adjective
- 1
Being in the middle of the way or distance; middle.
He told me to identify a good midway point at which I could pause the job.
adverb
- 1
Halfway; equidistant from either end point; in the middle between two points.
He stopped me midway through the job and told me to put it on hold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Midway in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense middle way or manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | medianía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does midway come from?
From Middle English mydwaye, mydweye, from Old English midweġ (“midway”), equivalent to mid- + way. Cognate with Dutch midweg (“midway”), Middle Low German midwech (“midway”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).