Only

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈəʊn.li/
• US IPA: /ˈoÊŠn.li/, /ˈoÊŠln(l)i/
• Hong Kong English IPA: /ˈuÅ‹li/
• Hyphenation: on + ly

Alternative forms

• onely obsolete

Origin

Old English ǣnlīċ, from ; corresponding to one + -ly/-like. Cognate with Swedish enlig ("unified"), and obsolete Dutch eenlijk.

Full definition of only

Adjective

1. Alone in a category.
   He is the only doctor for miles.
   The only people in the stadium were the fans: no players, coaches, or officials.
   Only the cat sat on the mat. The dog never did.
   The only cat sat on the only mat.

1. Singularly superior; the best.
   He is the only trombonist to recruit.
• William ShakespeareMotley's the only wear.
2. Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
   He is their only son, in fact, an only child.
• 1949, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication:To DAD ¶ who only reared twelve children ¶ and ¶ To MOTHER ¶ who reared twelve only children
3. (obsolete) Mere.
• 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.40:I know some who wittingly have drawne both profit and preferment from cuckoldrie, the only name whereof is so yrksome and bail-ful to so many men.

Synonyms

• (alone in a category) sole, lone
• (singularly superior) peerless, unequaled, nonpareil

Derived terms

• if any
• if only
• one and only
• only child
• only game in town
• only if

Adverb

1. Without others or anything further; exclusively.
• 2013-06-07, Ed Pilkington, ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, In his submission to the UN, Christof Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
2. My heart is hers, and hers only.   The cat sat only on the mat. It kept off the sofa.
3. No more than; just.
• 1949, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication:To DADwho only reared twelve childrenandTo MOTHERwho reared twelve only children
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 20, ‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’
• 2013-06-22, Engineers of a different kind, Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.
4. The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.   If there were only one more ticket!
5. As recently as.
• 2013-08-03, Yesterday’s fuel, The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).
6. He left only moments ago.
7. (obsolete) Above all others; particularly.
• Marstonhis most only elected mistress

Derived terms

• if and only if
• only if

Conjunction

1. Under the condition that; but.
2. However.
   I would enjoy running, only I have this broken leg.
   The cat sat on the mat, only the dog chased it off.
3. But for the fact that; except.

Related terms

• if only

Noun

1. (rare) only child
• 2013, Sybil L. Hart, ‎Maria Legerstee, Handbook of JealousyThe consistent finding ... that infants who are onlies do not differ from those who have siblings despite their lesser history of exposure to differential treatment is perplexing.

Anagrams

• Lyon
• ynol