among

preposition

ə-ˈməŋ 

variants or less commonly amongst

ə-ˈməŋ(k)st 

1

: in or through the midst of : surrounded by

hidden among the trees

2

: in company or association with

living among artists

3

: by or through the aggregate of

discontent among the poor

4

: in the number or class of

wittiest among poets

among other things she was president of her college class

5

: in shares to each of

divided among the heirs

6

a

: through the reciprocal acts of

quarreling among themselves

b

: through the joint action of

made a fortune among themselves

Between vs. Among: Usage Guide

There is a persistent but unfounded notion that between can be used only of two items and that among must be used for more than two. Between has been used of more than two since Old English; it is especially appropriate to denote a one-to-one relationship, regardless of the number of items. It can be used when the number is unspecified

economic cooperation between nations

, when more than two are enumerated

between you and me and the lamppost

partitioned between Austria, Prussia, and Russia

—Nathaniel Benchley

, and even when only one item is mentioned (but repetition is implied).

pausing between every sentence to rap the floor

—George Eliot

Among is more appropriate where the emphasis is on distribution rather than individual relationships.

discontent among the peasants

When among is automatically chosen for more than two, English idiom may be strained.

a worthy book that nevertheless falls among many stools

—John Simon

the author alternates among mod slang, clichés and quotes from literary giants

—A. H. Johnston

Synonyms

• amid
• amidst
• mid
• midst
• through

Examples of among in a Sentence

The disease spread quickly among the members of the community.

The house is nestled among the trees.

The ball was hidden among the leaves.

There were ducks among the geese.

There were several hecklers scattered among the crowd.

He lived among artists and writers.

The people of the town were frightened to think that a killer might be living among them.

Recent Examples on the Web

Worker confidence among Gen Zers in the United States recently tumbled to record lows, even lower than at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to LinkedIn. —Matt Egan, CNN Money, 2 June 2025

Acknowledging an ebullient entrepreneurial spirit among the youth in the Kingdom with a strong female component, too, Zinola said that the school’s ultimate goal is to foster those creative and business seeds. —Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 2 June 2025

This is where the maximum of $1 million in bonuses to be shared among an entire roster of players begins to look relatively paltry in comparison to the money the clubs and the league will receive. —James Nalton, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025

The best way to keep arguments among teen-agers from turning violent is for adults to step in and tell them to cool down—and mass incarceration drains adults from troubled neighborhoods. —Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker, 2 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

among from Middle English, from Old English on gemonge, from on + gemonge, dative of gemong crowd, from ge- (associative prefix) + -mong (akin to Old English mengan to mix); amongst from Middle English amonges, from among + -es -s — more at com-, mingle

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for among

• hirschsprung
• unsung
• bling
• bung
• clung
• dung
• flung
• fung
• hung
• lung
• rung
• slung

Kids Definition

among

preposition

ə-ˈməŋ 

variants also amongst

-ˈməŋ(k)st 

1

: in or through the midst of

among the crowd

2

: in company with

you're among friends

3

: through all or most of

discontent among the poor

4

: in the class of

among my good qualities is patience

5

: in shares to each of

divided among the heirs