both

[ bohth ]

/ boʊθ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR both ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

one and the other; two together: He met both sisters. Both performances were canceled.

pronoun

the one as well as the other: Both of us were going to the party.

conjunction

alike; equally: He is both ready and willing.

Nearby words

botchedly, botchy, bote, botel, botfly, both, both barrels, with, both feet on the ground, with, both ways, botha, botha, louis

Origin of both

1125–75; Middle English bothe, bathe, influenced by Scandinavian (compare Old Norse bāthir both; cognate with German, Dutch beide, Gothic ba tho skipa both (the) ships, Old High German bêde < *bai thai); replacing Middle English bo, ba, Old English bā; cognate with Gothic bai; akin to Latin ambō, Greek ámphō, Lithuanian abù, Sanskrit ubháu

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for both

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Bush busy engaging constituents on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate ahead of the 2004 presidential election.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Disordered eating is also linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety, both in the present and in the future.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Both Ney and Abramoff have reentered the public spotlight following their sentences, writing books about their experiences.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv|Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

They are both viewed in essence like eating Brussels sprouts.
The Devil in Mike Huckabee|Dean Obeidallah|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The advent of technological application in the farming sector was a cause of both optimism and disquiet.
Frying Pan Farm|Elizabeth Brown Pryor
One could see that, in both places, something like an old world dignity of life had in the past been kept up.
A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs|George M. Wrong
The lake dwellers had fires, both on shore and in their huts over the water.
Notable Events of the Nineteenth Century|Various
This was near being the death of us both, as the two critics together would have turned the scale at near five hundred.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, April, 1876.|Various
Safest for him, after all, was to lay fast hold of the particularly unimportant person he was, both there and anywhere else.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete|George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for both

both

/ (bəʊθ) /

determiner

the two; two considered togetherboth dogs were dirty
(as pronoun)both are to blame

conjunction

(coordinating) used preceding words, phrases, or clauses joined by and, used to emphasize that not just one, but also the other of the joined elements is includedboth Ellen and Keith enjoyed the play; both new and exciting

Word Origin for both

C12: from Old Norse bāthir; related to Old High German bēde, Latin ambō, Greek amphō

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with both

both

In addition to the idioms beginning with both

both barrels, with
both feet on the ground, with

also see:

best of both worlds
burn the candle at both ends
cut both ways
foot in both camps
have it both ways
play both ends against the middle
work both sides of the street