Amidst meaning: It runs a remarkably straight course

It runs a remarkably straight course westward through a narrow trough from Daolatyar to Obeh, amidst the bleak wind-swept uplands of the highest central elevations in Afghanistan. AMID definition: 1. in the middle of or surrounded by: 2. in the middle of or surrounded by: 3. in the middle of…. Learn more. What does amidst mean ? Amidst means the same thing as amid. They are one and the same. You can substitute amidst for amid in all of the above examples and not change the meaning of the sentences. Consider: John looked for his friend amidst the crowd. Roosevelt took office amidst the Great Depression. Both amidst and amid are correct. The words amid and amidst are often used interchangeably, both meaning ' in the middle of ' or 'surrounded by'. However, amid is the more commonly used variant, especially in American English, while amidst tends to have a more literary or formal air, and is more frequently seen in British English.