What does "other" mean?
An other, another (person, etc), more often rendered as another.
Other
/ˈʌðə/ adj, adv, det, name, noun, verb
adj, adv, det, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An other, another (person, etc), more often rendered as another.
- Grammar: other is listed as adj, adv, det, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accessory, accident, accidental, added.
- Useful contrasts: first, identical, initial.
- Usage evidence: They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals.
How to use "other"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "other" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "other" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "other" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "other" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "other" is acting as adj, adv, det, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accessory" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "other", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An other, another (person, etc), more often rendered as another.
"I'm afraid little Robbie does not always play well with others."
- 2 The other one; the second of two.
"One boat is not better than the other."
Verb
- 1 To regard, label, or treat as an "other", as not part of the same group; to view as different and alien. transitive
""Rican" is code for its homonym, "redskin," through which they othered this non-Mexican ethnic group."
- 2 To treat as different or separate; segregate; ostracise. transitive
"In this scenario, the young lady who had spoken had been othered by her peers and her response to my question had been dismissed as invalid despite the fact that she was alright."
Adjective
- 1 See other (determiner) below. not-comparable
- 2 Second. not-comparable
"I get paid every other week."
- 3 Alien. formal, not-comparable
"In Matthew's account, the law remains intact, as does virtually everything except that critical belief in Jesus as the Messiah (obviously no small thing), and this is not enough to make Matthew completely other from its Jewish origins."
- 4 Different. not-comparable
"it is inherent, rather, in the revolutionary attempt of the West to externalize the idea of a source of meaning wholly other than what is embodied in human conventions and hierarchies."
- 5 Left, as opposed to right. not-comparable, obsolete
"A diſtaffe in her other hand ſhe had, / Vpon the which ſhe litle ſpinnes, but ſpils, / And faynes to weaue falſe tales and leaſings bad, / To throw amongſt the good, which others had diſprad."
Adjective
- 1 very unusual; different in character or quality from the normal or expected wordnet
- 2 belonging to the distant past wordnet
- 3 recently past wordnet
- 4 not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied; quantifier, other wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Otherwise. not-comparable, obsolete
"I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, Lay down my soul at state; if you think other, Remove your thought;"
Determiner
- 1 Not the one or ones previously referred to.
"Earning less than $2,000 a month I have no other source of income except for gifts from relatives."
Proper Noun
- 1 Radical alterity or otherness conceived or reified as a separate entity; “other people” altogether in their difference from oneself.
"In its most fundamental dimension, sacrifice is a “gift of reconciliation” to the Other, destined to appease its desire. Sacrifice conceals the abyss of the Other’s desire, more precisely: it conceals the Other’s lack, inconsistency, “inexistence,” that transpires in this desire. Sacrifice is a guarantee that “the Other exists” […]"
- 2 A surname.
- 3 A male given name from Old Norse, of rare usage, used as an aristocratic heritage familial given name.
Example
"They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "other"?
Common synonyms include: accessory, accident, accidental, added, addendum, addition.
How do you use "other" in a sentence?
They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals.
How do you pronounce "other"?
Pronounced /ˈʌðə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English other, from Old English ōþer (“other, second”), from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄þar, *anþar, from Proto-Germanic *anþeraz (“other, second”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros (“other”). Cognate with Scots uther, ither (“other”), Old Frisian ōther, ("other"; > North Frisian ouder, öler, üđer, Saterland Frisian uur, West Frisian oar), Old Saxon ōthar, ("other"; > Low German anner), Old Dutch āthar, ("other"; > Afrikaans ander, Dutch ander), Old High German andar, ("other"; > Cimbrian andar, German ander, anderer, Luxembourgish aner, Mòcheno ònder, Yiddish אַנדער (ander)), Old Norse annarr, ("other"; > Danish anden, Faroese annar, Icelandic annar, Jamtish æðnen, ænnen, Norwegian Bokmål annen, Norwegian Nynorsk annan, Swedish annan), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂 (anþar, “other”), Old Prussian anters, antars (“other, second”), Lithuanian antroks (“other”, pronoun), Latvian otrs, otrais (“second”), Macedonian втор (vtor, “second”), Albanian ndërroj (“to change, switch, alternate”), Sanskrit अन्तर (ántara, “different”). French autre, Spanish otro, Portuguese outro, etc., all from Latin alter, are false cognates. A true cognate would be Latin anterior.
Etymology 2
Calque of French autre (other). Semantic loan from French Autre, principally after French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan (also as grand Autre) and philosopher Emmanuel Levinas.
Etymology 3
From Old Norse Othorere, originating during the Viking occupation of England.