NYT Dictionary

BOTH

/boʊθ/
DeterminerPronounConjunctionBOHTHGrade 2

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German beide (“both”), Swedish både, båda, Danish både, Norwegian både, Icelandic báðir. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen. A remnant of the Indo-European dual grammatical number.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

bracecouplecoupletdistichdoubletduadduetduodyadeither

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 11 recorded puzzles:

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