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both

SayBOHTH/boʊθ/UK/bəʊθ/

4 meanings of both

Practice

  1. 1
    two (thing follows)determiner
    Referring to the two people or things together rather than just one of them.

    Both candidates agreed to a second debate next week.

    The storm damaged both bridges leading into town.

    UsageComes before the or my: both the children, both my children. Before a pronoun, add of: both of them.

    Oppositeneither

  2. 2
    two linked itemsconjunction
    Used before the first of two linked items, paired with 'and', to stress that a statement covers each of them.

    The new policy benefits both employees and customers.

    He is both a teacher and a working musician.

    UsageKeep the two linked parts in the same grammatical form, as in both by train and by bus.

    Oppositeneither

    Note

    Agatha Christie writes both in material and in workmanship, repeating in so that each side has the same shape.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Agatha Christie wrote ‘both in material and in workmanship’; the quotation is attributed to her An Autobiography, part II, chapter 4. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    two of thempronoun
    Each one of the two people, things, or kinds being considered.

    The committee interviewed two finalists and hired both.

    Both were exhausted after the long hike up the ridge.

    Oppositeneither

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    conjunctionobsolete
    Used with 'and', in older English, to take in all of three or more things rather than only two.
    Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound.
    1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield
    He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast.
    1797, [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”
    Note

    Philip Sidney's Arcadia, Oliver Goldsmith in 1766 and Coleridge all let both run on past a pair: both man and bird and beast. Richard Congreve still writes it this way in 1892.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of both apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English 'bothe', from Old English 'bā þā' ("both the; both those"), possibly reinforced by Old Norse 'báðir', from Proto-Germanic *bai. It is cognate with Dutch and German 'beide' and Swedish 'både', and is a remnant of the Indo-European dual grammatical number.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts