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Glite Dictionary
in midstream

in midstream

3 6.5
While something is still happening and not finished
  • idiom
translation icon : en medio del proceso
  • Don't go changing horses in midstream.
  • change in midstream
  • switch in midstream
  • project in midstream

And so if some of you here have been with us from the start, when we met here a couple weeks ago, some of you came in midstream.

Examples

  • Formal schooling begins in midstream.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Kenny sits down hurriedly, shucks off his coat as he joins the conversation in midstream.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "Never change horses in midstream."

    Wag the Dog (1997)

  • And the answer to that is "it's too late to switch horses in midstream."

    Blog text (10)

  • Carl stopped in midstream to help the children, lifting each in turn across.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • You don't change horses in midstream, Ben.

    High Hopes (2006)

  • You don't want to change horses in midstream.

    Wag the Dog (1997)

  • Don't change horses in midstream.

    Wag the Dog (1997)

  • You're not, by any chance, thinking of changing horses in midstream?

    Stage Fright (1950)

  • The project hit some complications, but we decided not to change course in midstream.

Synonyms

midstream
vsin midstream
3.8

While an action or task is happening and not finished

is the same meaning but used as a prepositional phrase
midcourse
vsin midstream
6.0

Happening in the middle of a journey or project

is broader, applying to any ongoing process rather than just journeys or courses

Antonyms

in the end
790 1.0

Finally, after everything has been thought about

afterward
  • US
204 1.1

At a later time

How Complete

complete
863 1.0
in midstream
3 6.5
underway
336 4.1
beginning
1.0
unstarted
1 4.3

Surface Forms

in midstream main

Morphology

in + midstream

The meaning is directly compositional: 'in' (position inside) combined with 'midstream' (mid + stream = the middle of something) yields 'in the middle of a process'. This locative/temporal composition is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings would readily infer the expression.

Etymology

In midstream paints a simple picture: mid means 'middle' and stream means 'a small river', so someone is literally in the middle of the water. So it now means being 'in the middle of a task or plan' or 'before something is finished', often when it is hard to stop or change course.