medial

adjective

me·​di·​al ˈmē-dē-əl How to pronounce medial (audio)
Synonyms of medialnext
1
: mean, average
2
a
: being or occurring in the middle
b
: extending toward the middle
especially : lying or extending toward the median axis of the body
3
: situated between the extremes of initial and final in a word or morpheme
medial noun
medially
ˈmē-dē-ə-lē How to pronounce medial (audio)
adverb

Synonyms of medial

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of medial in a Sentence

four is the medial number between one and seven
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Little polyurethane nodes are cast in the shape of Cs on the medial side and no. — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 17 June 2026 So, medial epicondylitis or golfer’s elbow is, voilà, inflammation of the medial epicondyle. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 If you have been bitten or scratched by any stray animals or an animal suspected to have rabies, seek medial care immediately and let your provider know about the possible exposure. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 1 June 2026 Then, just two games into the 2023-24 season, Fudd tore her left ACL and medial meniscus during practice and was ruled out for the rest of the year. — Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for medial

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin medialis, from Latin medius

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of medial was in 1570

Phrases Containing medial

Rhymes for medial

See All Rhymes for medial

Browse Nearby Words

mediagenic
medial
medial cadence
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Medial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medial. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

medial

adjective
me·​di·​al ˈmēd-ē-əl How to pronounce medial (audio)
1
: lying or extending in the middle
especially, of a body part : lying or extending toward the median axis of the body
the medial surface of the tibia
2
: of or relating to the media of a blood vessel
necrosis and lipid deposition with medial involvement
medially
-ə-lē How to pronounce medial (audio)
adverb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All