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DictionaryoneSingle unit
numeral / determiner / noun / pronoun / adjective

one

WUN/wʌn/

A single unit or entity.

The child selects one apple while leaving the others in the basket.

A child selects a single apple from a basket while all the other apples remain untouched behind it.
Etymology
oneOld Englishone

Old English an already expressed a single unit or individual. That same idea of unity appears in atone, originally “at one”: people in agreement were understood as being in harmony.

In context

TED speaker0:43
and a bunch of us graduate students got together one day,
Why Gender Equality Is Good for Everyone — Men Included | Michael Kimmel | TED Talks
TED speaker12:57
OK, that's one case report.
Joe DeRisi: Hunting the next killer virus

More examples

  • I like these mugs, especially the blue one.
  • One never knows what tomorrow will bring.
  • The two teams now work as one.
  • The author and the narrator are one and the same.

Forms

one · ones

oneness noun — The state of being a single whole.

Similar words

single
Emphasizes that there is just one, not several.
united
Describes separate people or things joined into a whole.
same
Emphasizes shared identity or qualities rather than numerical quantity.