English

Pronoun

one another

1. (idiomatic, reciprocal pronoun) Used of a reciprocal relationship among a group of two or more people or things; compare each other.

   The raw recruits helped one another get over the first few days.

   Rainy days seemed to follow one another all summer.

Translations

Synonyms

• each other

Usage notes

Some usage guides proscribe “each other” for two entities and “one another” for more than two; this distinction is not observed in practice. The Oxford English Dictionary describes the pronoun as referring to “two or more”; Fowler’s suggests that the distinction “is neither of present utility nor based on historical usage”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage notes that “a few commentators believe the rule to be followed in ‘formal discourse’. This belief will not bear examination: Samuel Johnson’s discourse is perhaps the most formal that exists in English literature, and he has been cited in violation of the rule.”

See also

• mutual
• reciprocal