Word.ws English Dictionary

only

Syllables: on·ly/ˈoʊn.li//ˈəʊn.li/

only adjective: alone in a category.

Adjective

only (not comparable)

  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.
  2. Singularly superior; the best.
    • Motley's the only wear.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • But as to uſquebagh; ah long life to the liquor—it is an exhilirator of the bovvels, and a ſtomatic to the head; I ſay, Mr. Preſident, it invigorates, it ſtimulates, it—in ſhort it is the onlieſt liquor of life, and no man alive vvill die vvhilſt he drinks it.1762, [Samuel] Foote, The Orators. […], Dublin: […] Thomas Richey, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 54
  3. Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
    • He is their only son, in fact, an only child.
    • To DAD ¶ who only reared twelve children ¶ and ¶ To MOTHER ¶ who reared twelve only children1949, Frank B[unker] Gilbreth, Jr., Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication
  4. (obsolete) Mere.
    • 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.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    alone, simple, very, bare, just, mere

Adverb

only (not comparable)

  1. Without others or anything further; exclusively.
    • 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...2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6
    • My heart is hers, and hers only.
  2. No more than; just.
    • To DAD
      who only reared twelve children
      and
      To MOTHER
      who reared twelve only children1949, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication
    • ‘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.’1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
  3. As recently as.
    • Only yesterday did I feed you with bread for your bodies; today I offer you the bread of life for your hungry souls.c. 1924-1955, anonymous, The Urantia Book
    • 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).2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847
  4. Emphasizing something that is just or necessary.
    • It's only fair to let him borrow your kite, after you've had his toys all day.
    • He'd been belittling her for years. It's only natural that she left.
  5. (UK) Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.
    • She's only gone and run off with the milkman!
    • The van said ‘BURT’S BURGERS’ on one side and ‘BURT’S PEST CONTROL’ on the other. Zoe stared at the van. The creepy man was only using the same vehicle for catching rats that he did for frying burgers!2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN
  6. (Ireland, informal) Just, simply, undoubtedly.
    • Sure you're only gorgeous!
  7. Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.
    • They rallied from a three-goal deficit only to lose in the final two minutes of play.
    • I spent years studying a degree only to learn there was no requirement for such a certification.
  8. (obsolete) Above all others; particularly.
    • his most only elected mistress1604 (date written), Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], Parasitaster, or The Fawne, […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for W[illiam] C[otton], published 1606, →OCLC, (please specify the page)

Conjunction

only

  1. (informal, clause-initial) Under the condition that; but.
    • You're welcome to borrow my bicycle, only please take care of it.
  2. (informal, clause-initial) But, except; but in fact.
    • I would enjoy running, only I have this broken leg.
    • She would get good results only she gets nervous.

Noun

only (plural onlys or onlies)

  1. An only child.
    • Sometimes, secondborns marry onlys and the conflicts are similar.1995, Don Martin, Maggie Martin, Pat Jeffers, Is Your Family Making You Fat?, page 101
    • The 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.2013, Sybil L. Hart, Maria Legerstee, Handbook of Jealousy

Particle

only

  1. (Singapore, Singlish) Placed at the end of a sentence to emphasize that something is trivial, small, undemanding or deserving of belittlement.
    • Just need to replace the filter only.
    • “No, you must listen to me,” the other replied. “I am Goh Chok Tong.”
      “I am the President, even bigger than you.”
      “President only! I am president of all the countries of the world!”2022, Daren Shiau, chapter VIII, in Heartland, Ethos Books, →ISBN
    Synonyms:
    that's all, nia

only meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

only in Hindi

1. alone in a category
केवल keval, अकेला akelā, मात्र mātra, एकल ekal, एकाकी ekākī
2. singularly superior; the best
श्रेष्ठ śreṣṭh, अकेला akelā
3. without sibling
एकलौता eklautā
without others or anything further; exclusively
ही hī, केवल keval, एकमात्र ekmātra

only in Tamil

1. alone in a category
ஒரே orē
3. without sibling
ஒரே orē
without others or anything further; exclusively
மட்டும் maṭṭum
no more than
தான் tāṉ

only in Marathi

1. alone in a category
एकमात्र ekmātra
without others or anything further; exclusively
फक्त phakta, केवळ kevaḷ
no more than
केवळ kevaḷ, फक्त phakta

only in Urdu

without others or anything further; exclusively
صرف sirf
no more than
صرف sirf
More languagesFewer languages
only in Telugu
ఏకైక ēkaika, ఒకే okē, ఒక్కగానొక్క okkagānokka
only in Malayalam
ഏക ēka, ഒറ്റ oṟṟa, ഒരൊറ്റ oroṟṟa, മാത്രം mātraṁ
only in Assamese
অকল okol, মাথোঁ mathü̃, মাথোন mathün
only in Tagalog
lang, laang, lamang
only in Arabic
وَحِيد waḥīd, فَقَط faqaṭ
only in Malay
hanya, sahaja
only in Indonesian
satu-satunya, hanya, tunggal, anging
only in Persian
تَنها tanhâ, تنها tanhâ, فقط faqat
only in Thai
เท่านั้น tâo-nán
only in Vietnamese
duy nhất, chỉ, tốt nhất, một
only in Myanmar
ရုံ rum

Examples of only in a sentence

  • He was the only male in attendance at the boyband concert.
  • That was the only time I went to Turkey.
  • I threw out only him.
  • The cat sat only on the mat. It kept off the sofa.
  • The only scientist to have won three Nobel prizes.
  • The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.

All 40 example sentences with only

Synonyms of only

19 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of only

Forms of only

Adjective
alternative form (obsolete)onely
alternative form (obsolete)onlie
Noun
pluralonlys
pluralonlies

Origin of only

From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly. * Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one.

Words formed from only

Phrases with only

12 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with only

Questions about only

What does only mean?
Only means alone in a category.
What is only in Hindi?
Only in Hindi is केवल (keval), अकेला (akelā), मात्र (mātra). See Only meaning in Hindi.
How do you use only in a sentence?
He was the only male in attendance at the boyband concert.
What part of speech is only?
Only can be an adjective, an adverb, a conjunction or a noun.
How do you pronounce only?
Only is pronounced /ˈoʊn.li/.

Words near only in the dictionary

  1. onlooker
  2. onlookers
  3. onlooking
  4. onlooks
  5. onlucky
  6. only
  7. only a mother could love
  8. only child
  9. only children
  10. only daughter
  11. only daughters

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: only (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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-only.wav, En-us-only.ogg.

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