Tom Petty sang, “You belong among the wildflowers,” not “You belong between the wildflowers.” And in addition to being poetry, these song lyrics illustrate an important grammatical distinction. “Between” and “among” have similar meanings, but the words are not interchangeable. The main difference is quantity. “Between” usually refers to two distinct items, while “among” is used with more than two items or an indefinite group. For example:
In general, you should use “between” any time two people are involved, and when expressing a range of numbers (as in, “between 3,000 and 4,000”) or a physical space (such as “between a rock and a hard place”). But there’s always an exception to the rule: “Between” isn’t limited to just pairs. When the relationship is one-to-one — even in a group of many — “between” is still correct.
When the relationship is general or collective, go with “among.”
Think of it this way: “Between” draws lines to connect individual people and things. “Among” draws circles to gather people and things into groups.
But what about “amongst”? It has no distinct meaning — it’s just a fancier (and slightly older) version of “among.” Both are correct, but “among” is more common in modern usage, especially in American English. “Amongst” still pops up in song lyrics and literature, though, so it is best used when one is feeling poetic or a bit British.
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