among

preposition

\ə-ˈməŋ

variants: or less commonly amongst \-ˈməŋ(k)st

Definition of among

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

6a : through the reciprocal acts of quarreling among themselves

b : through the joint action of made a fortune among themselves

Synonyms Between vs. Among: Usage Guide More Example Sentences Learn More about among

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Synonyms for among

Synonyms

amid (or amidst), mid, midst, through

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

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

The rate of abortions among women aged 15 to 44 fell 26 percent, from 15.9 abortions per 1,000 women to 11.8. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Birth Control Helped Us Reach Historically Low Abortion Rates, But the Trump Administration Could Change That," 30 Nov. 2018 Shortages of lumber have been a common complaint among homebuilders thanks to a years-long trade dispute with Canada over softwood lumber. — Jeff Andrews, Curbed, "Why shrinking U.S. homes may be a boost to homebuyers," 29 Nov. 2018 What’s left among Microsoft’s list of PC deals this year are generally less-expensive notebooks and desktops with hefty percentage discounts amounting to a couple of hundred dollars or so. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Microsoft's Cyber Monday laptop deals are going fast—here are the best we found," 26 Nov. 2018 Marijuana use among pregnant women in California doubled between 2009 and 2016 There’s no official screening system at the state or federal level for marijuana use in pregnancy in the US. — Julia Belluz, Vox, "More pregnant women are using marijuana. We don’t know if that’s safe.," 20 Nov. 2018 Just in time for October 31, this tricky puzzle challenges you to find the hidden vampire bat among the ghosts, pumpkins, cauldrons, and cats. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Can You Spot the Bat Among the Pumpkins in This Tricky Halloween Puzzle?," 25 Oct. 2018 The good news is that despite the resurgence of Marxist chic among young people in the U.S., people seeking the wealth that American youngsters can take for granted already know that Marxism doesn’t work. — James Freeman, WSJ, "Capitalism: Still Working," 15 Nov. 2018 Microsoft claimed that the April 2018 Update was among the best Windows releases ever. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Microsoft re-releases the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, admitting its testing needs to improve," 13 Nov. 2018 For now, Amazon and Google are trying to build trust among new — few — voice buyers by making their search results as relevant as possible. — Rani Molla, Recode, "Voice tech like Alexa and Siri hasn’t found its true calling yet: Inside the voice assistant ‘revolution’," 12 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'among.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.