each other

American  

pronoun

1. each the other; one another (used as a compound reciprocal pronoun).

   to strike at each other; to hold each other's hands; to love each other.

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each other British  

pronoun

1. used when the action, attribution, etc, is reciprocal

   furious with each other

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each other Idioms  

1. Also, one another. Each one the other, one the other, as in The boys like each other, or The birds were fighting one another over the crumbs. Both of these phrases indicate a reciprocal relationship or action between the subjects preceding (the boys, the birds). Formerly, many authorities held that each other should be confined to a relationship between two subjects only and one another used when there are more than two. Today most do not subscribe to this distinction, which was never strictly observed anyway. [Late 1300s] Also see at each other's throats.

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Usage

Although some insist that each other be used only in reference to two ( The two candidates respected each other ) and one another in reference to three or more ( The three nations threaten one another ), in standard practice they are interchangeable. Each other is not restricted to two, nor is one another restricted to three or more. The possessive of each other is each other's; the possessive of one another is one another's.

Each other and one another are interchangeable in modern British usage

Etymology

Origin of each other

before 1000; Middle English; Old English. See each, other

Compare meaning

How does each-other compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• each other vs. one another

Example Sentences

The audience seem to know every word - with the whole room reverberating to the declarative, "I don't need a boyfriend", that crops up in the second verse of Nice To Each Other.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

What We Owe Each Other is essentially a lengthy meditation on the observation that greater economic productivity will enable “more generous social contracts.”

From Slate • May 9, 2024

Tudzin kicks all these elements up a notch on “Threatening Each Other re: Capitalism,” one of the most affecting songs on “Let Me Do One More.”

From New York Times • Sep. 29, 2021

Many Arlington residents recently turned to the Facebook group “Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through Covid-19” to crowdsource answers to these unfamiliar bites, ARLNow reported.

From Washington Post • Jul. 30, 2021

Written more than fifty years ago—in 1883—What Social Classes Owe to Each Other is even more pertinent today than at the time of its first publication.

From What Social Classes Owe to Each Other by Sumner, William Graham

Related Words

• one