between
Plural: betweens
Adverb
- in the interval
- "dancing all the dances with little rest between"
- in between
- "two houses with a tree between"
Prep
- In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)
- Done together or reciprocally.
- Shared in confidence.
- In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).
- Combined (by effort or ownership).
- One of (representing a choice).
- Taking together the combined effect of.
Noun
- A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.
Preposition
- In the space separating two or more things.
- In the space separating two things.
Examples
- Between the food and the card games, this proved to be the best birthday party I have ever had.
- Between the leaky taps and the peeling wallpaper, there isn't much about this house to appeal to a buyer.
- Between us all, we shall succeed. We've only got £5 between us.
- Between you and me, I think the boss is crazy. Let's keep this between ourselves.
- conversation between friends
- He cleverly placed his tiles between two words, scoring in three directions.
- He's between jobs right now. The shuttle runs between the town and the airport.
- I want to buy one that costs somewhere between forty and fifty dollars.
- John stood between Amy and Mary. Let’s meet between two and three.
- Some colour-blind people can't distinguish between red and green.
- The crucial letter ’E’ fit perfectly between the ’Q’ and ’T’ on the Scrabble board.
- You must choose between him and me.
Origin / Etymology
PIE word
*dwóh₁
From Middle English betwene, from Old English betwēonum (“between, among”, dative plural, literally “by the two, near both”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”) + *twīhnaz (“two each”), corresponding to be- + twain. Cognate with Scots between (“between”), Scots atween (“between”), Gothic 𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌹 (tweihnai, “two each”), Old English betweoh (“between”), Old English twinn (“double, twofold”). More at betwixt, twin.
More distantly related to Ancient Greek διά (diá, “through, across, by, over”) whence English dia- (“through, across, between”).
For the meaning development also compare with Mongolian хооронд (xoorond, “between”), connected with Mongolian хоёр (xojor, “two”).
Scrabble Score: 12
between: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbetween: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
between: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary