We say that something is between two people, things, or groups of things.

• She was standing between Alice and Mary.
• a long valley between high mountains

Between is often used to talk about distances or intervals.

• We need two meters between the windows.
• I’ll be at the office between nine and eleven.

2 between or among more than two

We usually say that somebody or something is between several clearly separate people or things. We prefer among when somebody or something is in a group, a crowd or a mass of people or things which we do not see separately.

Compare:

– Our house is between the forest, the river, and the village.

His house is hidden among the trees.

– I saw something between the wheels of the car.
Your letter is somewhere among all these newspapers.

Among is normal before a singular (uncountable) noun.

• They found an envelope full of money among all the rubbish.

3 dividing and sharing; the difference

We can talk about dividing or sharing things between or among more than two people or groups.

• He divided all his money between/among his children and grandchildren.
• We shared the work between/among the five of us.

We normally use between after difference.

• There are enormous differences between languages.
• What’s the difference between ‘between’ and ‘among’?

4 ‘one of’ etc

Among can mean ‘one of’, ‘some of’ or ‘included in’.

• Among the first to arrive was the ambassador.
• He has a number of criminals among his friends.

* a) between    b) among