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Glite Dictionary
in midstream

in midstream

3 6.5
While something is still happening and not finished
  • idiom
: 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
4 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
1 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
835 1.0

Finally, after everything has been thought about

afterward
  • US
656 1.1

At a later time

How Complete

complete
335 1.0
in midstream
3 6.5
underway
188 4.1
beginning
30 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.