Word
amidst
US/əˈmɪdst/
UK/ɐmˈɪdst/
Definition
prep. in the middle of something, often a crowd or a situation. You use it to show where someone is surrounded by other things or people.
prep. in the middle of; surrounded by. Often used to describe being in the midst of a situation, event, or group of people.
Examples
“She stood amidst the crowd of fans.”
“The small village remained calm amidst the chaos of the nearby city protests.”
“Amidst the growing uncertainty of the global economy, investors sought stability in traditional assets rather than speculative ventures.”
Examples
simple
“She stood amidst the crowd of fans.”
contextual
“The small village remained calm amidst the chaos of the nearby city protests.”
complex
“Amidst the growing uncertainty of the global economy, investors sought stability in traditional assets rather than speculative ventures.”
Usage
Typically followed by a noun phrase indicating the surrounding context or environment.
Etymology
From amids + -t (excrescent), from amid + -s (genitive). By surface analysis, amid + -st (excrescent). Root amid from Middle English amidde, amiddes, on midden, from Old English on middan (“in the middle”), from midd (“central”) (English mid).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/amidst