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

The pair have faced each other twice this year already.

From BBC

Reform's pitch rests on a claim that the two big parties are as bad as each other, and preside over a system that is bust.

From BBC

Even so, “In C” promises to endure as a classic for as long as musicians find meaning in communing with each other.

From Los Angeles Times

Promises — a $50,000 signing bonus, the forgiving of student loans and “generous” benefits — pile on top of each other toward the end of the ad with a plug for ICE’s website.

From Los Angeles Times

Historian Jill Lepore explains how the power to change the law through constitutional amendments was always intended to keep Americans from killing each other.

From Slate

Related Words

• one