That is too loose.
Midrash is first a mode of interpretation
Britannica defines Midrash as a mode of biblical interpretation prominent in Talmudic literature. The term is also used for the body of commentaries that employ this method.
That double meaning matters. Midrash names both a way of reading and many texts produced by that way of reading.
It does more than explain plain meaning
Midrash often works by filling gaps, resolving tensions, drawing moral conclusions, and making Scripture speak into later communal life.
That is why it can look inventive. But the invention is not random. It is a disciplined tradition of interpretation.
Midrash is part of rabbinic culture, not a side genre
Britannica places Midrash alongside the Talmudic world of interpretation. That helps correct a common mistake. Midrash is not decorative folklore attached to Judaism from the outside. It is one of the ways rabbinic Judaism thinks with the Bible.
Why it still matters
Midrash still matters because it refuses a flat reading of Scripture. It assumes the text is deep enough to sustain argument, expansion, and renewal.
The shortest accurate answer
Midrash is a Jewish mode of biblical interpretation and also the body of commentaries and teachings built through that interpretive method.