both

American  

[bohth] / boʊθ /

adjective

1. one and the other; two together.

   He met both sisters. Both performances were canceled.

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pronoun

1. the one as well as the other.

   Both of us were going to the party.

conjunction

1. alike; equally.

   He is both ready and willing.

both British  

/ bəʊθ /

determiner

1. 1. the two; two considered together

      both dogs were dirty

   2. ( as pronoun )

      both are to blame

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conjunction

1. (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 included

   both Ellen and Keith enjoyed the play

   both new and exciting

both Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing both

• 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

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Etymology

Origin of both

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English bothe, bathe, Old English bā thā “both the, both those”; cognate with German, Dutch beide, Old High German bêde; akin to Latin ambō, Greek ámphō, Lithuanian abù, Sanskrit ubháu

Example Sentences

In these states, a photon is not simply detected as arriving "early" or "late," but exists as a combination of both possibilities.

From Science Daily

After both Mario movies, a film based on the Legend of Zelda is due to be released next year, and there appear to be plans for an animation based on Donkey Kong.

From BBC

Sir Keir was using that phrase to describe both the general economic impact of the Iran conflict and the particular difficulties in getting the Strait of Hormuz open again.

From BBC

However, both still need approval from regulators before they can begin the pilot programmes.

From BBC

The leak is a blow for Anthropic because it risks both undermining its reputation for safety and also revealing valuable trade secrets in the pitched battle for enterprise customers.

From The Wall Street Journal