Mid is short for “middle” or “mediocre,” and it's used to describe something that's just okay, not particularly good or bad. When someone says a movie was mid, they mean it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't impressive either. It landed right in the middle: forgettable and ordinary.

The word caught on as slang in the 2020s, especially online, where people use it to express mild disappointment. If your friend asks how lunch was and you say “it was pretty mid,” you're saying it wasn't worth getting excited about. A mid video game might have decent graphics but boring gameplay. A mid song might be catchy at first but gets old quickly.

What makes something mid is that lack of anything special. It's the difference between a birthday party that's fun but unmemorable and one that's truly exciting. People sometimes debate whether calling something mid is too harsh, since “average” might sound more neutral. But mid carries a hint of letdown, suggesting that whatever you're describing could have been better but just didn't deliver.