Definition

An exam given in the middle of a semester to assess learning so far and provide early evidence that you're failing before you've completely given up.

Example Usage

The midterm exam covered material from the past six weeks and was somehow harder than the full course final exam.

Origin

Compound of 'mid' and 'term,' standard in academic calendars since the 20th century

Fun Fact

Midterms exist at a sweet spot of stress: early enough that you haven't learned much, late enough that you've accumulated real anxiety

Source: Academic calendar terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

drive-by review

A hostile or superficial peer review that dismisses a manuscript without substantive engagement, often revealing the reviewer spent minimal time or harbors personal bias. These intellectual hit-and-runs frustrate authors and undermine scholarly discourse.

🎓 Education / Academia
Intermediate

academic misconduct

A broader category than academic dishonesty, encompassing cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, and facilitating others' violations. The formal charge that triggers investigations, hearings, and outcomes ranging from assignment failure to expulsion. Academia's criminal justice system, complete with uneven enforcement.

🎓 Education / Academia
Beginner

lecturer

The academic rank where you do all the teaching work of a professor but receive none of the glory, tenure, or pay. In universities, they're the intellectual workhorses who deliver knowledge to hungover undergrads while assistant professors hide in their research. Historically, they were also Church of England clergy tasked with afternoon sermons, proving that captive audiences have suffered for centuries.

🎓 Education / Academia
Beginner

drop/add period

The window at the beginning of a term when students can change their schedules without penalty or permanent record. It's musical chairs with classes, where everyone frantically swaps until the music stops.

🎓 Education / Academia
Advanced

Citation Index

A metric measuring how many times other researchers have cited your work, supposedly indicating importance but often just indicating notoriety.

🎓 Education / Academia
Beginner

Office Hours

Designated times when professors sit in their offices waiting for students who will never come, creating the academic equivalent of a birthday party no one attends. The three students who do show up are either lost, need a letter of recommendation, or are crying.

🎓 Education / Academia

Translate This Term

See “Midterm” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Intermediate

baccalaureate

The fancy European-sounding term for either a bachelor's degree or, in certain countries, the grueling standardized exam...