let alone

let alone conjunction: much less; to say nothing of; used after one negative clause to introduce another, usually broader and more important clause, whose negation is implied by the negation of the first. However either of these instances mentioned can be applied with the use of let alone.

Conjunction

let alone

(idiomatic) Much less; to say nothing of; used after one negative clause to introduce another, usually broader and more important clause, whose negation is implied by the negation of the first. However either of these instances mentioned can be applied with the use of let alone.
- He couldn't boil water, let alone prepare a dinner for eight.
- My last run this month is an amazing performance of an "A2/3" Pacific, No. 60524, Herringbone (could there possibly be a more infelicitous name for a locomotive than this, let alone for the unhappy horse which first had to bear it?), […].1953 December, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Performance and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 838
(idiomatic, rare) Not to mention, as well as; used after one item, to introduce a further item which is entailed by the first.
- At the end of another ten years, let alone sixty, we are likely to see a very different pattern in the realm of British passenger locomotive power.1957 July, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Performance and Performance during Sixty Years”, in Railway Magazine, page 496

Verb

let alone (third-person singular simple present lets alone, present participle letting alone, simple past and past participle let alone)

(transitive) To leave alone, let be; to stop bothering.
- I wish he would let me alone so I could get some sleep.
Synonyms:

leave alone
(colloquial, dated, transitive) To rely on (a person) to do something.
- Oh! let him alone for that. He's the boy that can get out of a scrape.1838, Marguerite Countess of Blessington, The Works of Lady Blessington (page 223)
- "It's not easy gettin' as good," rejoined the old woman, "an' you ought to be very glad to win him, if you can."
  "Let me alone for that," said Sally.1849, William Carleton, Tales and Sketches, page 81

let alone meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Arabic

let alone in Hindi

to let alone, leave: रहना rahnā

let alone in Urdu

to say nothing of: چہ جائے کہ cih jā'ye kih

let alone in Gujarati

to let alone, leave: રહેવું rahevũ

let alone in Arabic

to say nothing of: نَاهِيك nāhīk

More languagesFewer languages

let alone in Indonesian: apalagi
let alone in Persian: چه برسه

Synonyms of let alone

leave alone

Forms of let alone

Conjunction
alternative form	let along
alternative form	yet alone
Verb
third-person singular present	lets alone
present participle	letting alone
past participle	let alone
past	let alone

Words formed from let alone

let it alone

Questions about let alone

What does let alone mean?: Let alone means much less; to say nothing of; used after one negative clause to introduce another, usually broader and more important clause, whose negation is implied by the negation of the first. However either of these instances mentioned can be applied with the use of let alone.
What is let alone in Hindi?: Let alone in Hindi is रहना (rahnā). See Let alone meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is let alone?: Let alone can be a conjunction or a verb.

Words near let alone in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: let alone (page history and authors); रहना (Hindi) (page history and authors); રહેવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-let alone.ogg.

Cite this entry: “let alone.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/let_alone. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.