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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

between.

In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

prep/bɪˈtwiːn/UK/bɪˈtwɪjn/British, Southern, Standard/bəˈtwin/General-American/bɪˈtwin/General-American
  1. In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)

    John stood between Amy and Mary.    Let’s meet between two and three.
    I want to buy one that costs somewhere between forty and fifty dollars.
  2. Done together or reciprocally.

    conversation between friends
  3. Shared in confidence.

    Between you and me, I think the boss is crazy.  Let's keep this between ourselves.
  4. In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).

    He's between jobs right now.  The shuttle runs between the town and the airport.
  5. Combined (by effort or ownership).

    Between us all, we shall succeed.  We've only got £5 between us.
    Between the leaky taps and the peeling wallpaper, there isn't much about this house to appeal to a buyer.
  6. One of (representing a choice).

    You must choose between him and me.
    Some colour-blind people can't distinguish between red and green.
  7. Taking together the combined effect of.

    Between the food and the card games, this proved to be the best birthday party I have ever had.
Where this word comes from

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”).

noun/bɪˈtwiːn/UK/bɪˈtwɪjn/British, Southern, Standard/bəˈtwin/General-American/bɪˈtwin/General-American
  1. A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.

Where this word comes from

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”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.