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Between vs Both - What's the difference?

between | both |

As a preposition between

is in the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree (see the usage notes below).

As a noun between

is a kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.

As a determiner both is

each of the two; one and the other.

As a conjunction both is

including both (used with and).

between

English

Alternative forms

* betweene (archaic) * betwene (archaic) * (abbreviation)

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See the Usage notes below.)
  • :
  • :
  • *
  • *:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between ; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
  • , title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}
  • Done together or reciprocally.
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1935, author= George Goodchild
  • , title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1 , passage=She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.}}
  • Shared in confidence.
  • :
  • In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).
  • :
  • Combined (by effort or ownership).
  • :
  • :
  • One of (representing a choice).
  • :
  • :
  • Usage notes

    * Some groups of non-native speakers confuse between'' and ''among''. It is sometimes said that ''between'' usually applies to two things, while ''among'' applies to more than two things. This is not correct; according to the Oxford English Dictionary (quoted at http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/chesson/between_and_among.htm) "In all senses, ''between'' has been, from its earliest appearance, extended to more than two. In OE. and ME. it was so extended in sense 1, in which ''among'' is now considered better. It is still the only word available to express the relation of a thing to many surrounding things severally and individually, ''among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely: we should not say ‘the space lying among the three points,’ or ‘a treaty among three powers,’ or ‘the choice lies among the three candidates in the select list,’ or ‘to insert a needle among the closed petals of a flower".

    Synonyms

    * atween (archaic) * atwix

    Derived terms

    * (between)

    See also

    * betwixt * among

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.
  • Statistics

    *

    both

    English

    Alternative forms

    * bothe (archaic)

    Determiner

    (en determiner)
  • Each of the two; one and the other.
  • * (Bible), (w) xxi. 27
  • Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
  • * (1678-1751)
  • He will not bear the loss of his rank, because he can bear the loss of his estate; but he will bear both , because he is prepared for both.
  • *
  • Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author= Ian Sample
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains , passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
  • (obsolete) Each of more than two.
  • * (Oliver Goldsmith) (1730-1774)
  • Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound.
  • * (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
  • He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast.

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • including both (used with and)
  • Both you and I are students

    See also

    (various semantically related terms) * * * couple * double * dual * neither * pair * second * twice * two