among
əˈmʌŋ
Mixed into a crowd, and place, rumor and share all follow
The picture Standing in the middle of a packed crowd with people on every side. Nobody is being counted one by one; you are simply in there. BETWEEN is the exact gap between two things; AMONG is the mixed-up middle of three or more.
Where the picture shows up in among
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mixed into a pile
I found your file among the old papers.
aɪ faʊnd jɔːr faɪl əˈmʌŋ ði oʊld ˈpeɪpərz
I found your file in with the old papers.
A stack of paper pushed apart, and the file wedged in the middle of it.
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counted in the top few
She is among the best nurses on this floor.
ʃiː ɪz əˈmʌŋ ðə best ˈnɜːrsɪz ɑːn ðɪs flɔːr
She is one of the best nurses on this floor.
A line of people, with a few of them stepping one pace forward.
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travelling through a group
The flu is spreading among the staff.
ðə fluː ɪz ˈspredɪŋ əˈmʌŋ ðə stæf
The flu is going round the staff.
Color bleeding sideways from person to person in a standing crowd.
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shared out over a group
Please divide the work among the three of you.
pliːz dɪˈvaɪd ðə wɜːrk əˈmʌŋ ðə θriː əv juː
Share this work out across the three of you.
One lump broken up and laid out across three waiting hands.
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a mood over a group
There is real worry among the customers.
ðer ɪz riːəl ˈwɜːri əˈmʌŋ ðə ˈkʌstəmərz
The customers are genuinely worried.
One low cloud of the same color hanging over every head in the room.
All of it in one picture
AMONG is the inside of a crowd. A thing in the crowd is mixed in; a person lifted out of the crowd is counted among the best; an illness travelling through the crowd is spreading; work scattered over the crowd is being shared out; a mood settling on the crowd is the feeling in the room. Instead of counting one by one, it points at the mass and says: in there.