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Definition of medium noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

medium

noun
 
/ˈmiːdiəm/
 
/ˈmiːdiəm/
(plural media
 
/ˈmiːdiə/
 
/ˈmiːdiə/
, mediums)
Idioms
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  1. a way of communicating information, etc. to people
    • the medium of radio/television
    • electronic/audiovisual media
    • medium of something The internet is the modern medium of communication.
    • medium for doing something A T-shirt can be an excellent medium for getting your message across.
    The plural in this meaning is usually media. see also media, mass media
    Extra Examples
    • Radio is an important communication medium in many countries.
    • The government communicates through the medium of television.
    • As a political campaigner he quickly learned to exploit the new medium of radio.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • advertising
    • broadcast
    • communication
    preposition
    • through the medium of
    • medium for
    phrases
    • a medium of communication
    • a medium of instruction
    See full entry
  2. something that is used for a particular purpose
    • medium of something English is the medium of instruction (= the language used to teach other subjects).
    • medium for doing something Video is a good medium for learning a foreign language.
    Extra Examples
    • The first use of tape as a recording medium was in 1956.
    • She used her novels as a medium for encouraging political debate.
    • She experimented with the blog as a new medium for exploring issues.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • advertising
    • broadcast
    • communication
    preposition
    • through the medium of
    • medium for
    phrases
    • a medium of communication
    • a medium of instruction
    See full entry
  3. (computing) the material used for storing computer files, such as on magnetic tape or discs
    • Copy files to and from the device as you would with any other storage medium.
    Topics Computersc2
  4. the material or the form that an artist, a writer or a musician uses
    • the medium of paint/poetry/drama
    • Watercolour is his favourite medium.
    see also mixed media
    Extra Examples
    • Oil paint is her preferred artistic medium.
    • The gallery has been committed to the photographic medium for 25 years.
    Topics Artc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • artistic
    • photographic
    • mixed media
    See full entry
  5. (biology) a substance that something exists or grows in or that it travels through
    • The bacteria were growing in a sugar medium.
    Topics Biologyc2
  6. (plural mediums)
    a person who claims to be able to communicate with the spirits of dead people
  7. Word Originlate 16th cent. (originally denoting something intermediate in nature or degree): from Latin, literally ‘middle’, neuter of medius.
Idioms
a/the happy medium
  1. something that is in the middle between two choices or two ways of doing something
    • She tried to strike a happy medium between making the questions too hard and making them too easy.
More Like This Easily-confused plural/​singular formsEasily-confused plural/​singular forms
See medium in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee medium in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
elaborate
adjective
 
 
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