[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/between.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / between [← B](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/B/) # between «between» in Mova's school dictionary: **in the space in the middle of two things: the ball is…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it. ### part of speech preposition; adverb (in between) ### meaning for a pupil 1) Between means in the space in the middle of two things: the ball is between the chairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m1) 2) Between means shared by two or more people: share between them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m2) 3) Between can mean in the time from one thing to another: between 2 and 3 o'clock. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m3) 4) In numbers, between means larger than one and smaller than the other: 5 is between 4 and 6. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m4) 5) Between shows a difference or a link: the difference between cats and dogs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m5) 6) (casual) «Between you and me» means this is a secret; «in between» means in the middle, neither one nor the other. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m6) 7) (formal) The exam voice says «apportioned among», «distributed amongst», «the interval bounded by», «the disparity between». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#m7) ### sense in the lessons sharing out to a number of people («shared between 5 children» = divide by 5); or the gap between two numbers («the difference between 18 and 11» = subtract); in maths «numbers between 10 and 20»; in everyday life «between you and me», «in between», «choose between», «between meals»; in casual and gossip talk «between us, she's moving house» (a secret); in the exam voice «apportioned equally among», «the disparity between» ### examples - 25 books are shared between 5 children equally. How many does each child get? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x1) - Mo and Lin share 14 grapes between them equally. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x2) - What is the difference between 18 and 11? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x3) - The cat sat between the two pillows. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x4) - Which number is between 7 and 9? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x5) - Do not eat between meals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x6) - We have a break between maths and reading. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x7) - You have to choose between the red bike and the blue one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x8) - Between you and me, Mr Lee's leaving at Christmas. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x9) - split it between the 3 of us, it's 12 chips [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x10) - sod it, just split 'em between us [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x11) - Twenty-five volumes are to be apportioned equally amongst five pupils; ascertain the allocation per pupil. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x12) - The truth lies between these two extremes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/#x13) ### note «shared between N» names the number of shares: divide; «apportioned among» in an exam is the same. Trap: «the difference between A and B» asks you to subtract, not to share; «the disparity between» is the formal word for that difference. «Numbers between 3 and 7» usually means 4, 5, 6, not 3 and 7. «between the 3 of us» counts the speaker in: 3 shares. Say «between you and me», not «between you and I». «Between you and me» in gossip is a secret, not a sharing problem. ### In the corpora - [The silent treatment usually makes things worse, and children should not have to carry messages between upset grown-ups.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/14-grown-ups-who-argue-and-make-up/8/) - [Then it stays between you two, bro."](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/50-rumours-about-classmates-and-secrets/5/) - [People of all ages knit; the British Olympic diver Tom Daley was filmed knitting between events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/31-crafts-paper-clay-sewing-knitting-slime/11/) - [Tigers love water and swim well; Sundarbans tigers swim between islands in the mangroves of India and Bangladesh and can swim several kilometres.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/19-the-tiger/10/) - [Each time you practise something, the connections between the nerve cells involved get stronger, so the memory gets easier to find.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/68-the-brain-and-nerves/14/) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every meaning and example of «between» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/between/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.