over medium

Meaning

This term refers to a specific way of cooking fried eggs where the egg is flipped and cooked on both sides. The white is completely cooked and firm, while the yolk is warm and semi-liquid (thick and runny but not completely watery). It is a standard term used when ordering breakfast in diners and restaurants.

Examples

• I'd like two eggs over medium with a side of sourdough toast, please.

  I'd like two eggs over medium with a side of sourdough toast, please.

• If you cook the egg over medium, the yolk will still be slightly runny.

  If you cook the egg over medium, the yolk will still be slightly runny.

• She prefers her eggs over medium because she doesn't like a completely watery yolk.

  She prefers her eggs over medium because she doesn't like a completely watery yolk.

• The chef fried the eggs over medium, perfect for dipping my toast points.

  The chef fried the eggs over medium, perfect for dipping my toast points.

• Do you want your eggs scrambled, sunny-side up, or over medium?

  Do you want your eggs scrambled, sunny-side up, or over medium?

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want my eggs medium over.

  ✓ I want my eggs over medium.

  The word order is fixed. 'Over' (indicating the egg is flipped) must always precede the level of doneness ('medium').

• ✗ Please fry my eggs half cooked.

  ✓ Please cook my eggs over medium.

  While 'half cooked' is a literal translation in some languages, English speakers use established terms like 'over medium' or 'over easy'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I don't like runny whites, so I always order my fried eggs ___.

  💡 Flipped eggs with fully cooked whites and a partially runny yolk.

  Show answer

  over medium

• To cook an egg ___, flip it gently and let it cook for just one more minute.

  💡 The style between over easy and over hard.

  Show answer

  over medium