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Glite Dictionary
🤝 Together 🚴 One behind another
in tandem

in tandem

3.7
One behind the other in a single line
  • idiom
  • /ɪn ˈtændəm/
translation icon : en fila india
  • The hikers walked in tandem, each person following closely behind the other on the narrow trail.

And if you just get one sticking, now you have this piece of DNA which is two different fragments in tandem, but it's going to be moving around in space in the cytoplasm.

Examples

  • The children lined up in tandem for their turn on the swing set, eagerly watching the one in front.

  • Each engine was two-cylinder, arranged in tandem.

    Blog text (32)

  • And if you just get one sticking, now you have this piece of DNA which is two different fragments in tandem, but it's going to be moving around in space in the cytoplasm.

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • The two cars raced in tandem, each driver trying to stay directly behind the other.

Synonyms

tandem
vsin tandem
4.6

One behind the other in a line, moving together

is narrower in scope focusing on strict single file rather than general togetherness

How Close

side by side
98 2.2
in tandem
3.7
after
118 1.0
apart
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

in tandem positive

Morphology

in + tandem

The meaning is directly compositional: 'in' (inside/within) combined with 'tandem' (an arrangement of items/people one behind another) yields the idea of being in that arrangement — i.e. together or coordinated. This follows a regular preposition + noun pattern and similar expressions exist cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

In tandem comes from a two-seat bicycle called a tandem where the riders sit one behind the other, so they travel in a single line. That's why the phrase means 'one behind the other'.