each other

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.

each other

pronoun

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

   furious with each other

Usage

Each other and one another are interchangeable in modern British 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of each other¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Carpenter worked with Bompastor during three of the Frenchwoman's five years at Lyon so they knew each other well before she arrived in London.

From BBC

“It’s usually cringe to wear a band’s shirt to their concert, but this gets a pass because people were head to toe in gear from their bucket hats to their socks. I see people walking down the street here with Oasis gear, and you stop each other to ask ‘Are you going to the show?’”

From Los Angeles Times

They are both utterly alone in the world until they have each other.

From Los Angeles Times

They’re also perhaps not entirely over each other.

From Los Angeles Times

As they left, colleagues wept and supported each other as they tried to make sense of what had happened.

From BBC

Related Words

• one