betweenbe‧tween /bɪˈtwiːn/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb, preposition 
I sat down between Sue and Jane. a house and stables, with a yard in between The ball rolled between his feet.2 (also in between) in the time that separates two times or events: Are there any public holidays between Christmas and Easter? You shouldn’t eat between meals. The team have a lot of work to do between now and Sunday. A lot of students spend a year abroad in between school and university. I’ve had a few jobs, with long periods of unemployment in between.3within a range of amounts, numbers, distances etc: The project will cost between eight and ten million dollars. Most of the victims were young men between the ages of 16 and 21.4used to say which two places are joined or connected by something: They’re building a new road between Manchester and Sheffield.5used to say which people or things are involved in something together or are connected: the long-standing friendship between Bob and Bryan co-operation between the two countries She had overheard a private conversation between two MPs. the link between serious sunburn and deadly skin cancer6used to say which people or things get, have, or are involved in something that is shared: Tom divided his money between his children. Between the four of them they managed to lift her into the ambulance. We collected £17 between us.7used to say which two things or people you are comparing: the contrast between town and country life In her book she makes a comparison between Russian and British ballet. the difference between good music and really great music8between you and me (also between ourselves) spoken used before telling someone something that you do not want them to tell anyone else: Between you and me, I think Schmidt’s about to resign.9come between somebody if something comes between two people, it causes an argument or problems between them: I let my stupid pride come between us.10used when it is difficult to give an exact description of something and you therefore have to compare it to two things that are similar to it: He uttered a sound that was something between a sigh and a groan.
WORD ORIGINbetween
Origin:
Old English betweonumEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- two yards with a fence between
Longman Language Activatorto do something better than before
if someone or something is between two or more people or things, the people or things are on either side of it: · The ball rolled between the goalkeeper's legs.· I had to sit between my two little brothers at dinner.· The house is somewhere between here and the airport.· Between the trees and the river, the slope was covered with beautiful daffodils.halfway between: · Barnegat Books is situated on Eleventh Street, about halfway between Broadway and University Place.
in the space that separates two or more things or people: · She found a small pool in between the rocks.· Why don't you put the television in between the bookcase and the window?· Rachel got in between Rob and Chris for a better view.· The farmer knocked off the lumps of earth in between the blades of his plough.
in a group of people or things that are all around you: · I saw him standing among a group of students.· The house was hidden among the trees.· We helped Mom search for her wedding ring among the rocks below the boardwalk.
if someone or something is in the middle , they are in the centre of a group or row with one or more people or things on either side of them: · Cindy and Marcia sat at either end of the sofa with me in the middle.· Here's a photo of my brother's baseball team -- that's Sean in the middle.in the middle of: · Just over the hill we saw a pond in the middle of the pines.
to be between two people or things that are so close that there is not enough space to move: · I spent a very uncomfortable evening at the concert sandwiched between two very large ladies.· Alan got back to the parking lot only to find his car sandwiched between a pick- up and a big truck.
when a bad situation or problem makes people argue if an unpleasant situation or problem causes or leads to an argument , it makes people argue: · Don't tell him about the money. It'll only cause an argument.· The cleaning rota always leads to arguments in our house.
if a bad situation or a problem comes between two people, it makes them argue, usually with the result that they stop being friends: · We were such close friends that I didn't think anything could come between us.· I was determined not to let my career come between us.
if a bad situation, a problem etc causes a rift between two people, it makes them have a small argument with the result that they are not as friendly as they were before: · The street fighting has caused a slight rift between the communities involved.· No one is quite sure about what caused the rift between the two actors.
to make someone not tell anyone about something to make someone seriously promise that they will not tell anyone about something you have told them or something that they know about: · "What's she doing here?" "I'd better not say. She swore me to secrecy."· Nobody knows much about the organization because its members are all sworn to secrecy.
spoken used when you are telling someone that what you are saying is a secret, and you do not want them to tell anyone else about it: · Between you and me, I think Elizabeth is a bit of a nightmare.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES an amalgamation between two companies Alvin managed to bridge the gap between ballet and modern dance. In fact, the truth lies between the two extremes. A UN representative will act as a go-between for leaders of the two countries. intermarriage between ethnic groups The two countries severed diplomatic relations. She had severed all contact with her ex-husband. the unbridgeable gulf between the rich and the poorCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB
an amalgamation between two companies Alvin managed to bridge the gap between ballet and modern dance.· A strong correlation exists between social class and exam success.
· Now we are able to measure the distances between the planets.
(=go quite a long way from them)· He wanted to put some distance between himself and his pursuers.
(=make it less clear)· Both sides in the war had been blurring the distinction between military and civilian targets.
In fact, the truth lies between the two extremes. A UN representative will act as a go-between for leaders of the two countries. intermarriage between ethnic groups The two countries severed diplomatic relations. She had severed all contact with her ex-husband.· There are lots of similarities between the two bikes.
the unbridgeable gulf between the rich and the poor· More and more consultants were distinguishing between performance-only versus performance-and-change assignments.· You had to go by their strut to distinguish between who should be approached and who avoided.· Toward the end of Period 1, an infant begins to distinguish between objects, a behavior not present at birth.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► anywhere between one and ten/anywhere from one to ten etc► get the bit between your teeth► (put) daylight between yourself and somebody► between the devil and the deep blue sea► between you, me, and the gatepost► a happy medium (between something and something)► be (stuck) between a rock and a hard place► between Scylla and Charybdis
1 (also in between) in or through the space that separates two things, people, or places: - A change from Krankoor to Kranko came between the 1847 and 1848 volumes, soon after Theunis's death.
- A true cat always comes between you and your newspaper.
- He has come between us and ruined our lives.
- No time lag should come between demand and supply.
- The bulk of the decline in traditional families came between 1970 and 1980, with smaller decreases since then.
- The Voice had come between them.
- Westward the Hudson came between Sammler and the great Spry industries of New Jersey.
- Yet again the business of running the hotel had come between them when they had something important to sort out.
- Between you and me, I don't think she has a chance of getting that promotion.
- Between you and me, I think Elizabeth is a bit of a nightmare.
- But - between you and me - he's really past it.
- But just between you and me and a few hundred miles, thoughts of ancient spirits still trail closely behind.
- C'mon, secretly just between you and me the voice persisted in her head, it would be hard not to.
- I wanted everything to start afresh between you and me.
- In fact, between you and me, I think she's relieved.
- Look, Miranda, he said, those twenty long years that lie between you and me.
- This has to stay between you and me.
- You know the difference between you and me, Sherman?
- Although the process has not turned them into ordinary men they have, in some degree, become betwixt and between.
- Both are figures caught betwixt and between, either compromised or radicalized by virtue of being women within a culture.
- They reported feelings of marginality, of being betwixt and between.
- Both make-ups can be available at the same time and, so far as value goes, there is nothing to choose between them.
- But there is little to choose between the two in terms of overall performance.
- Accordingly, the law seems to draw a line between lack of consent and lack of authorisation.
- However, there was no facility to simply draw a line and let the computer work out the curves.
- The Office of Government Commerce was set up last April to draw a line under this relatively poor performance.
- They draw a line that the public, according tothe polls, rejects.
- Ventura has effectively drawn a line against his own involvement in the 2000 race.
- What you needed for her to do was to draw a line for you.
- With a fork draw lines over the warm chocolate to resemble bark.
- Romley's lawsuit drove the wedge even farther between the two former friends.
- The war had driven a wedge between the President and his liberal supporters.
- Instead of driving a wedge between lovers, a child can expand and deepen that love.
- It will potentially drive a wedge between the Catholic H.E.
- She'd driven a wedge between herself and Guy.
- Such opposition to bureaucratic intrusion drove a wedge between many working-class people and the Fabian socialists.
- The deal drove a wedge between the president and fellow Republicans going into the 1992 elections.
- The lawsuit also helped drive a wedge between Arpaio and Romley.
- The men of violence want to drive a wedge between the forces of law and order and the people they protect.
- The papal reform tended to drive a wedge between the educated, celibate higher clergy, and the rank and file.
- Overall, the study seems to fall between two stools.
- That was a bad time for her because she fell between two stools in a way.
- Good jobs are few and far between these days.
- The schools are crowded, and good teachers are few and far between.
- Toys were few and far between, but the children invented games and played together.
- But for all this effort, meaningful accomplishments are few and far between.
- Deaf postgraduates, who are few and far between, have little chance of taking a higher degree.
- Facilities like the recently opened Russell Cairns Unit in Oxford are few and far between.
- Opportunities for young parents to socialize with each other are few and far between these days.
- Rough edges are few and far between.
- Sanatorium beds were few and far between, and often had to be obtained through influence.
- Shop said that all its stores were open but that customers were few and far between.
- The instances of this happening are few and far between.
- It's a fine line between guilt and shame.
- There's a fine line between clever and stupid and Warrant are nowhere near it.
- There's no love lost between Bart and Stephen.
- It's a case of finding the mean between firmness and compassion.
- A Nothing in comparison with the Infinite, an All in comparison with the Nothing, a mean between nothing and everything.
- Ahead of it the Wyrmberg turned from a distant toy to several billion tons of rock poised between heaven and earth.
- Like families gathered at Christmas, social animals are poised between cooperation and conflict.
- Reading between the lines, I don't think they want to train people who might soon leave the company.
- Perseverance is required to understand the story and you have to read between the lines to find the book's full meaning.
- While Anderson did not say directly that changes needed to be made, it was easy to read between the lines.
- Although the financial side is far from the whole story, you can usually read between the lines very clearly.
- Frequently it is necessary to read between the lines.
- Harriet, reading between the lines, knew exactly what her daughter meant.
- Jody goes over the two faxes again, this time slowly, trying to read between the lines.
- Perseverance is required to understand the story and one had to read between the lines to find the book's full meaning.
- Simon presents his story in a typically heroic manner, so I have to read between the lines.
- So beware: if we were able to read between the lines that easily, so too can your family and friends!
- You will use your powers of anticipation and imagination to read between the lines, to understand message and meaning.
- All the heavy materials came from junk spinning somewhere around in the solar system.
- By dimensions and purpose, the 1997 Ford Expedition falls somewhere between affordable housing and the next Trailways bus to Yuma.
- Possibly somewhere between 1901 and the present, Bobsworth had been caught with his hand in the cash box.
- Problems lie somewhere between puzzles and policy issues.
- The ideal size, in peace, is probably somewhere between 12 and 16.
- The resulting book falls somewhere between the teen diary / confessional genre and the academic feminist treatise.
- There was no definite sound, but he knew that Mabel would be somewhere around.
- Your house current is somewhere around 110 volts, which is enough to fry everything inside your machine.
- Eastin is trying to strike a balance between family life and her work.
- Accounts receivable management requires striking a balance between the cost of extending credit and the benefit received from extending credit.
- Effective organizations will strike a balance that allows them not only to accept uncertainty but to take advantage of it.
- He decided to strike a balance.
- How they strike a balance between the two is at the heart of corporate strategy.
- In the staffroom, they talk of trying to strike a balance between children seeing teachers as friends, and being over-familiar.
- No one can insure against all eventualities and so you strike a balance between the re- and pro- active aspects of your work.
- The courts have to try to strike a balance between the two.
- The problem of the Volunteer is to strike a balance.
- And that is when the toughest Bruin team in years sent the Huskies home with their tails between their legs.
- He knows he can not come back with his tail between his legs.
- I would go out of the Chamber with my tail between my legs.
- Pottz wiped out three waves in a row and crept back in with his tail between his legs.
- They got scared and ran away with their tail between their legs.
- A yawning gap was forecast between anticipated social expenditures and resources.
- In publishing the Hepplewhite Guide the Taylors were filling a yawning gap.
- Passion 57% A yawning chasm opens up after these four attributes.
- The yawning gap between the two was deeply worrying.
- There are yawning gulfs stretching down into the abyss which have often swallowed up cities that have fallen into them.
- There is and always has been a yawning gap at the budget end of the amplifier market.
- There was nothing there but a terrible, yawning gap.
- To a yawning gap in how I see the world and how the world sees me.
I sat down between Sue and Jane. a house and stables, with a yard in between The ball rolled between his feet.2 (also in between) in the time that separates two times or events: Are there any public holidays between Christmas and Easter? You shouldn’t eat between meals. The team have a lot of work to do between now and Sunday. A lot of students spend a year abroad in between school and university. I’ve had a few jobs, with long periods of unemployment in between.3within a range of amounts, numbers, distances etc: The project will cost between eight and ten million dollars. Most of the victims were young men between the ages of 16 and 21.4used to say which two places are joined or connected by something: They’re building a new road between Manchester and Sheffield.5used to say which people or things are involved in something together or are connected: the long-standing friendship between Bob and Bryan co-operation between the two countries She had overheard a private conversation between two MPs. the link between serious sunburn and deadly skin cancer6used to say which people or things get, have, or are involved in something that is shared: Tom divided his money between his children. Between the four of them they managed to lift her into the ambulance. We collected £17 between us.7used to say which two things or people you are comparing: the contrast between town and country life In her book she makes a comparison between Russian and British ballet. the difference between good music and really great music8between you and me (also between ourselves) spoken used before telling someone something that you do not want them to tell anyone else: Between you and me, I think Schmidt’s about to resign.9come between somebody if something comes between two people, it causes an argument or problems between them: I let my stupid pride come between us.10used when it is difficult to give an exact description of something and you therefore have to compare it to two things that are similar to it: He uttered a sound that was something between a sigh and a groan.