Amidst

//aˈmɪdst// prep

prep ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Preposition
  1. 1
    In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among.

    "Be a philosopher ; but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man."

Example

More examples

"Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents."

Etymology

From amids + -t (excrescent), from amid + -s (genitive). By surface analysis, amid + -st (excrescent). Root amid from Middle English amidde, amiddes, on midden, from Old English on middan (“in the middle”), from midd (“central”) (English mid).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.