Medium

/ˈmiː.di.əm/ · noun

Meaning

The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent..

Definitions by Sense

1. The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
2. The materials or empty space through which signals, waves, or forces pass.
3. A format for communicating or presenting information.
4. (microbiology) A nutrient substance, commonly a solution or solid, for the growth of cells in vitro.
5. (biology, horticulture, etc.) A substance, structure, or environment in which living organisms subsist, grow or are cultured.
6. A means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on, or by which an aim is achieved.
7. (engineering) The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting process.
8. (countable, plural mediums or media) A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.

Example Sentences

VVhether any other Liquours, being made Mediums, cauſe a Diuerſity of Sound from Water, it may bee tried: […]

He’s old and jealous, apt for ſuſpitions, ’gainſt which Tyrants ears Are never clos’d. The Prince is young, Fierce, and ambitious, I muſt bring together All theſe extreams, and then remove all Mediums, That each may be the others object.

[A]t all events, she drank in with eager ear, and admiring mind, anecdote and history of all those excellent traits of disposition, and nobleness of conduct, which made him the idol of his describer, and gave her a knowledge of his temper and character, and the manner in which his boyhood and youth had passed, which she could never have gained by any other medium, and which it was unquestionably right she should know.

Too often writing—in the broadest sense—is treated as a communicational medium where the subjects of that communication are constituted prior to the writing, where the objects of that communication are also constituted prior to that writing, and where the task of writing is seen as transparently mediating between already pregiven subjects, pregiven objects, and a preconstituted mise en scène.

In some instances one can take advantage of differential carbohydrate fermentation capabilities of microorganisms by incorporating one or more carbohydrates in the medium along with a suitable pH indicator. Such media are called differential media (e.g., eosin methylene blue or MacConkey agar) and are commonly used to isolate enteric bacilli.

The density of the living medium of fishes exerts upon them a mechanical influence; they are, so to say, balanced in water, free to proceed in all planes of direction...

Cable TV is an inexpensive advertising medium.

His loyalty to the English was doubtful and wavering, and his opposition to Post's journey was probably due to fears that his own importance as a medium between the Ohio Indians and the English would be diminished by the former's success.

Synonyms for medium

Antonyms for medium

Related Words

Word Forms

• media
• mediums

Usage Notes

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