between

be·tween  (b-twn)

prep.

1.

a. In or through the position or interval separating: between the trees; between 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock.

b. Intermediate to, as in quantity, amount, or degree: It costs between 15 and 20 dollars.

2. Usage Problem Connecting spatially: a railroad between the two cities.

3. Usage Problem Associating or uniting in a reciprocal action or relationship: an agreement between workers and management; a certain resemblance between the two stories.

4. In confidence restricted to: Between you and me, he is not qualified.

5.

a. By the combined effort or effect of: Between them they succeeded.

b. In the combined ownership of: They had only a few dollars between them.

6. As measured against. Often used to express a reciprocal relationship: choose between riding and walking.

adv.

In an intermediate space, position, or time; in the interim.

Idioms:

in between

In an intermediate situation: My roommates disagreed and I was caught in between.

in between times

During an intervening period; in the meantime: has written several books and teaches in between times.

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[Middle English bitwene, from Old English betwonum; see dwo- in Indo-European roots.]

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betweenness n.

Usage Note: According to a widely repeated but unjustified tradition, "between is used for two, and among for more than two." It is true that between is the only choice when exactly two entities are specified: the choice between (not among) good and evil, the rivalry between (not among) Great Britain and France. When more than two entities are involved, however, or when the number of entities is unspecified, the choice of one or the other word depends on the intended sense. Between is used when the entities are considered as distinct individuals; among, when they are considered as a mass or collectivity. Thus in the sentence The bomb landed between the houses, the houses are seen as points that define the boundaries of the area of impact (so that we presume that none of the individual houses was hit). In The bomb landed among the houses, the area of impact is considered to be the general location of the houses, taken together (in which case it is left open whether any houses were hit). By the same token, we may speak of a series of wars between the Greek cities, which suggests that each city was an independent participant in the hostilities, or of a series of wars among the Greek cities, which allows for the possibility that the participants were shifting alliances of cities. For this reason, among is used to indicate inclusion in a group: She is among the best of our young sculptors. There is a spy among you. Use between when the entities are seen as determining the limits or endpoints of a range: They searched the area between the river, the farmhouse, and the woods. The truck driver had obviously been drinking between stops.

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between

prep

1. at a point intermediate to two other points in space, time, etc.

2. in combination; together: between them, they saved enough money to buy a car

3. confined to: between you and me

4. indicating a linking relation or comparison

5. indicating alternatives, strictly only two alternatives

Adverb

also in between

between one specified thing and another [Old English betwēonum]

USAGE: After distribute and words with a similar meaning, among should be used rather than between: this enterprise issued shares which were distributed among its workers.

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	between - in the interval; "dancing all the dances with little rest between" betwixt
	2.	between - in between; "two houses with a tree between" 'tween

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between

preposition amidst, among, mid, in the middle of, betwixt >> prefix inter-

USAGE After distribute and words with a similar meaning, among should be used rather than between: share out the sweets among the children (not between the children, unless there are only two children).

Translations

between [bɪˈtwiːn] prep → entre

adv (also: in between) (time) → mientras tanto: (place) → en medio;

the road between here and London → la carretera de aquí a Londres;

we only had 5 between us → teníamos sólo 5 entre todos

between [bɪˈtwiːn] prep → entre

adv → au milieu, dans l'intervalle;

the road between here and London → la route d'ici à Londres;

we only had 5 between us → nous n'en avions que 5 en tout

between [bɪˈtwiːn] prep → zwischen +dat;

(with movement) → zwischen +acc;

(amongst) → unter +acc or dat

adv → dazwischen;

the road between here and London → die Straße zwischen hier und London;

we only had £5 between us → wir hatten zusammen nur £5

between [bɪˈtwiːn] prep → tra

adv → in mezzo, nel mezzo;

the road between here and London → la strada da qui a Londra;

we only had £5 between us → fra tutti e due avevamo solo 5 sterline

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between

prep between [biˈtwiːn]

1 in, to, through or across the space dividing two people, places, times etc between the car and the pavement; between 2 o'clock and 2.30; between meals. tussen بَيْن между mezi mellem zwischen ανάμεσα σε entre vahel, vahele میان؛ بین välissä, välillä entre בֵין के बीच između között, közé antara milli tra ～の間に 사이에 tarp starp di antara tussen (i)mellom między entre între между medzi med između mellan อยู่ระหว่างสิ่งสองสิ่ง arasında 在(兩者)之間 між; серед درمیان ، مابین ở giữa 在（两者）之间

2 concerning the relationship of two things or people the difference between right and wrong. tussen twee vure بَيْنَ (اثْنَيْن) между mezi mellem zwischen μεταξύ (για σχέση μεταξύ δύο στοιχείων) entre vahel میان välillä entre בֵין दो चीजों या लोगों के बीच के रिश्ते से संबंधित između között antara (skipta) á milli tra ～の間に ...에 관한 tarp starp di antara tussen (i)mellom, på pomiędzy entre dintre между medzi med između mellan ระหว่างสิ่งหนึ่งกับอีกสิ่งหนึ่ง arasında 在...之間 між مقابلۃً chỉ rõ sự liên quan 在...之间

3 by the combined action of; working together They managed it between them. tussen فيما فيما بَيْنَهُما помежду mezi, dohromady sammen; mellem sig zwischen αναμεταξύ entre ühisel jõul میان keskenään, yhteisvoimin à (eux, elles) deux בֵינֵהֶם @@@בֵּינֵיהֶם$$$ संयुक्त प्रयास između sebe egymás között bekerja bersama sameiginlega tra ～が共同で (협력) ...의 사이에서 kartu starp antara samen (dem) imellom, til sammen, ved forente krefter między entre împreună вместе medzi med zajedno mellan สิ่งที่รวมกัน arasında, aralarında, kendi aralarında 由...共同作用 поміж باہم cùng nhau 由...共同作用

4 part to one (person or thing), part to (the other) Divide the chocolate between you. tussen بَيْنَ (الأثْنَيْن) помежду mezi mellem zwischen αναμεταξύ entre omavahel بین keskenään entre (vous) בֵּין לְבֵין हिस्सा između egymás között di antara á milli tra ～の間で (분배) ...의 사이에 tarp starp; starpā antara onder elkaar (i)mellom między entre între между medzi med među sobom mellan ระหว่าง arasında 共享, 共同擁有 між, поміж درمیان giữa 2 người, 2 vật 在...中间

between you and me / between ourselves

in confidence Between you and me, I think he's rather nice. Tussen بيني وبينَك между mezi námi mellem dig og mig; mellem os sagt unter uns gesagt μεταξύ μας, εμπιστευτικά entre nosotros omavahel öeldes بین خودمان باشه meidän kesken (sanoen) entre nous, de vous à moi בֵּינֵינוּ दो लोगों के बीच राज između, među köztünk maradjon di antara kita okkar á milli tra noi 内密だが 비밀이지만 tik tarp mūsų kalbant starp mums [] antara onder ons gezegd (i)mellom oss (sagt) między nami (mówiąc) aqui para nós între noi (doi) между нами, конфиденциально medzi nami med nama među nama oss emellan เป็นความลับ aramızda kalsın, kimse duymasın 只限於咱們倆之間(不得外轉) довірливо; по секрету اپنے درمیان رکھنا chỉ có 2 người biết 只限于咱们俩之间（不得外转）

between is usually used for two.

among is usually used for more than two.