one
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Used to briefly refer to a noun phrase understood by context.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wuhnIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwʌn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
by ellipsis
Used to briefly refer to a noun phrase understood by context
The digit or figure 1.
us
A one-dollar bill.
A single person or thing
Honorific alternative letter-case form of one, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.
colloquial
A particularly special or compatible person or thing.
adjective
Being a single, unspecified thing; a; any.
Whole, entire.
The same.
Of a period of time, being particular.
Sole, only.
In agreement.
verb
transitive
To cause to become one; to gather into a single whole; to unite.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (by ellipsis) Used to briefly refer to a noun phrase understood by context
Used this way, one is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Formal
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
Comfortable in writing and prepared speech; in casual conversation a shorter everyday word usually sounds more natural.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: being a single or unspecified thing
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.