Between definition | Dictionary.com

be⋅tween

[bi-tween]

–preposition

1.	in the space separating (two points, objects, etc.): between New York and Chicago.

2.	intermediate to, in time, quantity, or degree: between twelve and one o'clock; between 50 and 60 apples; between pink and red.

3.	linking; connecting: air service between cities.

4.	in portions for each of (two people): splitting the profits between them.

5.	among: sharing the responsibilities between the five of us.

6.	by the dual or common action or participation of: Between us, we can finish the job in a couple of hours.

7.	distinguishing one from the other: He couldn't see the difference between good and bad.

8.	in comparing: no preference between the two wines.

9.	by the combined effect of.

10.	existing confidentially for: We'll keep this matter between the two of us.

11.	involving; concerning: war between nations; choice between things.

12.	being felt jointly or reciprocated by: the love between them.

13.	by joint possession of: Between them they own most of this company.

14.	Heraldry. in the midst of, so as to make a symmetrical composition: a cross argent between four bezants.

–noun

15.	Usually, betweens. a short needle with a rounded eye and a sharp point, used for fine hand stitchery in heavy fabric.

–adverb

16.	in the intervening space or time; in an intermediate position or relation: two windows with a door between; visits that were far between.

—Idioms

17.	between ourselves, confidentially; in trust. Also, between you and me, between you, me, and the post (lamppost, gatepost, etc.).

18.

in between,

a.	situated in an intermediary area or on a line or imaginary line connecting two points, things, etc.

b.	in the way: I reached for the ball, but the dog got in between.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME betwene, OE betwēonan, betwēonum, equiv. to be- be- + twēon- (c. Goth tweihn(ai) two each) + -um dat. pl. ending

Related forms:

be⋅tween⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
See among.

Usage note:
Among expresses a relationship when more than two persons or things are involved: Distrust spread among even his strongest supporters. Between is used when only two persons or things are involved: between you and me; to decide between tea and coffee. Between also continues to be used, as it has been throughout its entire history, to express a relationship of persons or things considered individually, no matter how many: Tossing up coins between three people always takes a little working out. Between holding public office, teaching, and writing, she has little free time.
Although not generally accepted as good usage, between you and I is heard occasionally in the speech of educated persons. By the traditional rules of grammar, when a pronoun is the object of a preposition, that pronoun should be in the objective case: between you and me; between her and them. The use of the nominative form (I, he, she, they, etc.) arises partly as overcorrection, the reasoning being that if it is correct at the end of a sentence like It is I, it must also be correct at the end of the phrase between you and …. The choice of pronoun also owes something to the tendency for the final pronoun in a compound object to be in the nominative case after a verb: It was kind of you to invite my wife and I. This too is not generally regarded as good usage.
The construction between each (or every) is sometimes objected to on the grounds that between calls for a plural or compound object. However, the construction is old and fully standard when the sense indicates that more than one thing is meant: Spread softened butter between each layer of pastry. There were marigolds peeking between every row of vegetables. The construction between … to is a blend of between … and (between 15 and 25 miles) and from … to (from 15 to 25 miles). It occurs occasionally in informal speech but not in formal speech or writing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Between

be·tween (bĭ-twēn')

prep.

1. In or through the position or interval separating: between the trees; between 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock.
2. Intermediate to, as in quantity, amount, or degree: It costs between 15 and 20 dollars.
3. By the combined effort or effect of: Between them they succeeded.
4. In the combined ownership of: They had only a few dollars between them.
Usage Problem Connecting spatially: a railroad between the two cities.
Usage Problem Associating or uniting in a reciprocal action or relationship: an agreement between workers and management; a certain resemblance between the two stories.
In confidence restricted to: Between you and me, he is not qualified.
1. By the combined effort or effect of: Between them they succeeded.
2. In the combined ownership of: They had only a few dollars between them.
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.

[Middle English bitwene, from Old English betwēonum; see dwo- in Indo-European roots.]
between'ness 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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Between

Be*tween"\, prep. [OE. bytwene, bitweonen, AS. betwe['o]nan, betwe['o]num; prefix be- by + a form fr. AS. tw[=a] two, akin to Goth. tweihnai two apiece. See Twain, and cf. Atween, Betwixt.]

1. In the space which separates; betwixt; as, New York is between Boston and Philadelphia.

2. Used in expressing motion from one body or place to another; from one to another of two.

If things should go so between them. --Bacon.

3. Belonging in common to two; shared by both.

Castor and Pollux with only one soul between them. --Locke.

4. Belonging to, or participated in by, two, and involving reciprocal action or affecting their mutual relation; as, opposition between science and religion.

An intestine struggle, open or secret, between authority and liberty. --Hume.

5. With relation to two, as involved in an act or attribute of which another is the agent or subject; as, to judge between or to choose between courses; to distinguish between you and me; to mediate between nations.

6. In intermediate relation to, in respect to time, quantity, or degree; as, between nine and ten o'clock.

Between decks, the space, or in the space, between the decks of a vessel.

Between ourselves, Between you and me, Between themselves, in confidence; with the understanding that the matter is not to be communicated to others.

Syn: Between, Among.

Usage: Between etymologically indicates only two; as, a quarrel between two men or two nations; to be between two fires, etc. It is however extended to more than two in expressing a certain relation.

I . . . hope that between public business, improving studies, and domestic pleasures, neither melancholy nor caprice will find any place for entrance. --Johnson. Among implies a mass or collection of things or persons, and always supposes more than two; as, the prize money was equally divided among the ship's crew.

Between

Be*tween"\, n. Intermediate time or space; interval. [Poetic & R.] --Shak.

Language Translation for : Between

Spanish: entre,

German: zwischen,

Japanese: ～の間に

More Translations »

between

O.E. betweonum, from bi- "by" + tweonum dat. pl. of *tweon "two each" (cf. Goth. tweih-nai "two each"). Horace Walpole's playful coinage betweenity (1760) is a useful word. Between a rock and a hard place is from 1940s, originally cowboy slang.

between

In addition to the idioms beginning with between, also see betwixt and between; come between; draw a line between; fall between the cracks; few and far between; hit between the eyes; in between; in between times; read between the lines; tail between one's legs.

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