among

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among

in association or connection with; surrounded by: You are among friends.

Not to be confused with:

between – in the space separating two objects: It was hard to choose between vanilla and chocolate. [Among is used when more than two persons or things are involved. Between is used when only two persons or things are involved.]

a·mong

(ə-mŭng′) also a·mongst (ə-mŭngst′)

prep.

1. In the midst of; surrounded by: a pine tree among cedars.

2. In the group, number, or class of: She is among the wealthy.

3. In the company of; in association with: traveling among a group of tourists.

4. By many or the entire number of; with many: a custom popular among the Greeks.

5. By the joint action of: Among us, we will finish the job.

6. With portions to each of: Distribute this among you.

7. With or against one another: Don't fight among yourselves. See Usage Note at between.

[Middle English, from Old English āmang : ā, in; see a-² + gemang, throng; see mag- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

among

(əˈmʌŋ) or

amongst

prep

1. in the midst of: he lived among the Indians.

2. to each of: divide the reward among yourselves.

3. in the group, class, or number of: ranked among the greatest writers.

4. taken out of (a group): he is only one among many.

5. with one another within a group; by the joint action of: a lot of gossip among the women employees; decide it among yourselves.

[Old English amang, contracted from on gemang in the group of, from on + gemang crowd; see mingle, mongrel]

Usage: See at between

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•mong

(əˈmʌŋ)

prep.

1. in, into, or through the midst of; surrounded by: She was among friends.

2. in the midst of, so as to influence: missionary work among the local people.

3. with a share for each of: Divide the fruit among you.

4. in the class or group of: That is among the things we must do.

5. with most or many of: a candidate popular among the people.

6. by the joint or reciprocal action of: Settle it among yourselves. They quarreled among themselves.

7. familiar to or characteristic of: a proverb among the Spanish.

[before 1000; Middle English; Old English amang, onmang for on gemang, on gemonge (dat. of gemong crowd, akin to mengan to mix) in (the) group (of); akin to mingle]

usage: See between.

among

1. groups

If you are among a group of people or things, you are surrounded by them.

Dev wandered among his guests.

Among his baggage was a medicine chest.

Be Careful!
Don't say that you are 'among' two people or things. You say that you are between them.

Myra and Barbara sat in the back, the baby between them.

The island is midway between São Paulo and Porto Alegre.

See between

The form amongst is sometimes used, but is more formal than among.

The old farmhouse was hidden amongst orchards.

2. dividing

You can say that something is divided among or between a group of people. There is no difference in meaning.

He divided his money among his brothers and sisters.

Different scenes from the play are divided between five couples.

The form amongst is sometimes used, but is more formal than among.

I heard that flour was being distributed amongst the citizens.

3. differences

Be Careful!
Don't use 'among' when you are talking about differences. Don't say, for example, 'I couldn't see any difference among the three chairs'. You say 'I couldn't see any difference between the three chairs'.

See between

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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among

amongst

preposition

1. in the midst of, with, together with, in the middle of, amid, surrounded by, amidst, in the thick of They walked among the crowds in the large town square.

2. in the group of, one of, part of, included in, in the company of, in the class of, in the number of Among the speakers was the new American ambassador.

3. between, to Most of the furniture was distributed among friends.

4. with one another, mutually, by all of, by the whole of, by the joint action of The directors have been arguing amongst themselves.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

بَيْـنَ وَسْط

meziuprostředv rámci

blandtmellemimellem

unter zwischen bei

ανάμεσα μεταξύ

entre

joukossakeskenään

parmi entre sur

među

á meîalá milli, innan um

in mezzo a sotto tra tra, fra di

･･･の中で

... 사이에~사이에

tarpusavyje

starpvidū

întreprintre

med

blandinom

ท่ามกลาง

arasındaortasında

ở giữatrong số

在...之中在…范围内

among

[əˈmʌŋ] amongst [əˈmʌŋst] PREP → entre, en medio de
from among(st) → de entre
among(st) the Yanomami it is deemed a virtue → entre los yanomami se considera una virtud
he is among(st) those who → es de los que ...
it is not among(st) the names I have → no figura entre los nombres que tengo
this is among(st) the possibilities → ésa es una de las posibilidades
they quarrelled among(st) themselves → riñeron entre sí
one can say that among(st) friends → eso se puede decir entre amigos
share it among(st) yourselves → repartíoslo entre vosotros

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

among

[əˈmʌŋ] amongst [əˈmʌŋst] prep

(= surrounded by) → parmi
We stood there among piles of wooden boxes → Nous nous tenions là parmi les caisses en bois.
They walked among the crowd
BUT Ils marchaient au milieu de la foule.

(= included in) → parmi
Among his purchases were several books → Parmi ses achats, il y avait plusieurs livres.
A British man was among those arrested
BUT Un Britannique faisait partie des personnes arrêtées.

(= with) [+ group of people] → parmi
The pub is popular among students → Le pub est populaire auprès des étudiants.

(= between) [share, distribute] → entre
among themselves → entre eux
They were talking among themselves → Ils parlaient entre eux.

among(st)

prep → unter (+acc or dat); among other things → unter anderem; she had sung with Madonna among others → sie hatte unter anderem mit Madonna gesungen; to stand among the crowd → (mitten) in der Menge stehen; they shared it out among themselves → sie teilten es unter sich or untereinander auf; talk among yourselves → unterhaltet euch; settle that among yourselves → macht das untereinander aus; he’s among our best players → er gehört zu unseren besten Spielern; Manchester is among the largest of our cities → Manchester gehört zu unseren größten Städten; to count somebody among one’s friends → jdn zu seinen Freunden zählen; this habit is widespread among the French → diese Sitte ist bei den Franzosen weitverbreitet; there were ferns among the trees → zwischen den Bäumen wuchs Farnkraut; to hide among the bushes → sich in den Büschen verstecken

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

among

[əˈmʌŋ] amongst [əˈmʌŋst] prep → tra, fra, in mezzo a
among friends → tra amici
he is among those who ... → fa parte di quelli che..., è uno di quelli che...
share it among yourselves → dividetevelo tra (di) voi
among other things → tra l'altro, tra le altre cose

among,

amongst

(əˈmaŋ(st)) preposition

1. in the middle of. a house among the trees.

2. in shares or parts to each person (in a group etc). Divide the chocolate amongst you.

among

→ بَيْـنَ, وَسْط mezi, v rámci blandt unter ανάμεσα, μεταξύ entre joukossa, keskenään parmi među tra, fra ･･･の中で ... 사이에, ~사이에 onder, te midden van blant pomiędzy, wśród entre посреди, среди bland, inom ท่ามกลาง arasında ở giữa, trong số 在...之中, 在…范围内

References in classic literature ?

202-217) `Verily wise Zeus carried off golden-haired Ganymedes because of his beauty, to be amongst the Deathless Ones and pour drink for the gods in the house of Zeus -- a wonder to see -- honoured by all the immortals as he draws the red nectar from the golden bowl.

View in context

Besides, those who contrive this plan of community cannot easily avoid the following evils; namely, blows, murders involuntary or voluntary, quarrels, and reproaches, all which it would be impious indeed to be guilty of towards our fathers and mothers, or those who are nearly related to us; though not to those who are not connected to us by any tie of affinity: and certainly these mischiefs must necessarily happen oftener amongst those who do not know how they are connected to each other than those who do; and when they do happen, if it is among the first of these, they admit of a legal expiation, but amongst the latter that cannot be done.

View in context

Amongst our lowest orders, the vocal organs are developed to a degree more than correspondent with those of hearing, so that an Isosceles can easily feign the voice of a Polygon, and, with some training, that of a Circle himself.