(~s, media)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
Note: The plural of the noun can be either '~s' or 'media' for meanings 4 and 5. The form '~s' is the plural for meaning 6.
1.
If something is of ~ size, it is neither large nor small, but approximately half way between the two.
A ~ dose produces severe nausea within hours...
He was of ~ height with blond hair and light blue eyes.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
2.
You use ~ to describe something which is average in degree or amount, or approximately half way along a scale between two extremes.
Foods that contain only ~ levels of sodium are bread, cakes, milk, butter and margarine.
...a sweetish, ~-strength beer.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
•
Medium is also an adverb.
Cook under a ~-hot grill.
ADV: ADV adj
3.
If something is of a ~ colour, it is neither light nor dark, but approximately half way between the two.
Andrea has ~ brown hair, grey eyes and very pale skin...
COMB in COLOUR
4.
A ~ is a way or means of expressing your ideas or of communicating with people.
In Sierra Leone, English is used as the ~ of instruction for all primary education...
But Artaud was increasingly dissatisfied with film as a ~.
N-COUNT
5.
A ~ is a substance or material which is used for a particular purpose or in order to produce a particular effect.
Blood is the ~ in which oxygen is carried to all parts of the body...
Hyatt has found a way of creating these qualities using the more permanent ~ of oil paint.
N-COUNT
6.
A ~ 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.
N-COUNT
7.
see also media
8.
If you strike or find a happy ~ 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 ~ between producing football that’s worth watching and getting results...
PHRASE: PHR after v