Etymology : Middle English betwene, preposition and adverb, from Old English betwEonum, from be- + -twEonum ; akin to Old English twA two
Pronunciation : bi-twEn
Function : preposition
Date : before 12th century
1. adbetwixt, amid; in the middle. prep. intermediate to; common, shared. between\be*tween"\ , prep. [oe. bytwene, bitweonen, as. betwe?nan, betwe?num; prefix be- by + a form fr. as. twā two, akin to goth. tweihnai two apiece. see:
twain, and cf. atween, betwixt.].
2. in the space which separates; betwixt; as, new york is between boston and philadelphia.
3. used in expressing motion from one body or place to another; from one to another of two. if things should go so between them.
4. belonging in common to two; shared by both. castor and pollux with only one soul between them.
5. 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. ume.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. In the space which separates; betwixt; as, New York is between Boston and Philadelphia.
9. Used in expressing motion from one body or place to another; from one to another of two.
10. Belonging in common to two; shared by both.
11. Belonging to, or participated in by, two, and involving reciprocal action or affecting their mutual relation; as, opposition between science and religion.
12. 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.
13. In intermediate relation to, in respect to time, quantity, or degree; as, between nine and ten o'clock.
14. Intermediate time or space; interval. in between; "two houses with a tree between" in the interval; "dancing all the dances with little rest between".
15. be·tween In addition to the uses shown below, between is used in a few phrasal verbs, such as `come between'.
16. If something is between two things or is in between them, it has one of the things on one side of it and the other thing on the other side. She left the table to stand between the two men Charlie crossed between the traffic to the far side of the street.
17. If people or things travel between two places, they travel regularly from one place to the other and back again. I spent a lot of time in the early Eighties travelling between London and Bradford.
18. A relationship, discussion, or difference between two people, groups, or things is one that involves them both or relates to them both. I think the relationship between patients and doctors has got a lot less personal There has always been a difference between community radio and commercial radio.
19. If something stands between you and what you want, it prevents you from having it. His sense of duty often stood between him and the enjoyment of life.
20. If something is between two amounts or ages, it is greater or older than the first one and smaller or younger than the second one. Amsterdam is fun -- a third of its population is aged between 18 and.
21. 6. If something happens between or in between two times or events, it happens after the first time or event and before the second one. The canal was built between 1793 and 1797 Between is also an adverb. a journey by jetfoil, coach and two aircraft, with a four-hour wait in Bangkok in between.
22. If you must choose between two or more things, you must choose just one of them. Students will be able to choose between English, French and Russian as their first foreign language.
23. If people or places have a particular amount of something between them, this is the total amount that they have. The three sites employ 12,500 people between them.
24. When something is divided or shared between people, they each have a share of it. There is only one bathroom shared between eight bedrooms. = amongst.
25. When you introduce a statement by saying `between you and me' or `between ourselves', you are indicating that you do not want anyone else to know what you are saying. Between you and me, though, it's been awful for business Between ourselves, I know he wants to marry her.