Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use only in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, adverb, conjunction

Only means alone in a category. Example: “He is the only doctor for miles.”

Examples of only by meaning

adjectiveAlone in a category.

  • He is the only doctor for miles.
  • The only people in the stadium were the fans: no players, coaches, or officials.
  • He was the only male in attendance at the boyband concert.

adjectiveSingularly superior; the best.

  • "But baseball's the only game."2015, Mike Lupica, The Only Game, →ISBN, pages 58–59

adjectiveWithout 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

adverbWithout others or anything further; exclusively.

  • My heart is hers, and hers only.
  • I threw out only him.
  • The cat sat only on the mat. It kept off the sofa.

adverbNo more than; just.

  • The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.
  • If there were only one more ticket!
  • I only opened the door a foot and put my head in.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

adverbAs recently as.

  • He left only moments ago.
  • 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.2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847

adverbEmphasizing 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.

adverbUsed to express surprise or consternation at an action.

  • She's only gone and run off with the milkman!
  • 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

More sentences with only

  • I only use the library for the encyclopedia, as we’ve got most other books here.From the entry encyclopedia
  • The only standard brassiere cup size smaller than the A cup is the AA cup.From the entry a
  • They found only minute quantities of chemical residue on his clothing.From the entry minute
  • It is not a retail showroom. It is only for the trade.From the entry trade
  • Kindness is a verb, not an adjective. You're only kind if you do kind things.From the entry verb
  • The abbreviated lesson only took fifteen minutes as opposed to an hour and a half.From the entry abbreviated
  • Only by submitting to the aberration could the human traders travel safely through the territory of Zularn.From the entry aberration
  • After the past week of forced marches, only half the men are fully able.From the entry able
  • This idea has been about for a while but has only recently become fashionable.From the entry about
  • I don’t know all the theoretical abracadabra about how it works, I’m only its pilot.From the entry abracadabra
  • His rage only increased when I told him of the lost money.From the entry increase
  • I started to watch the video yesterday, but could only finish it this evening.From the entry yesterday
  • Only about a hundred years ago, wireless was a new technology.From the entry wireless
  • I never learned to drive a stick. I can only drive an automatic.From the entry automatic
  • The monthly financial statements show all the actual but only some of the accrued expenses.From the entry accrue
  • I only qualified as an architect this summer, so I'm still a baby.From the entry baby
  • At only $30, the second-hand kitchen table was a great buy.From the entry buy
  • She suddenly felt strange, and only then realized she'd been drugged.From the entry drug
  • He became frustrated when his bench increased by only 10 pounds despite a month of training.From the entry bench
  • I only spoke to my lawyer and yourself about the issue.From the entry yourself
  • There were only some three or four cars in the lot at the time.From the entry some
  • English only has a past tense and a non-past tense; it has no future tense.From the entry tense

Meaning of only

  1. adjective Alone in a category.
  2. adjective Singularly superior; the best.
  3. adjective Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.

Full definition of only

Questions about only in a sentence

How do you use only in a sentence?
Only is used as an adjective, adverb and conjunction. For example: “He is the only doctor for miles.”
What is a short sentence with only?
“"But baseball's the only game."”
What does only mean?
Only means alone in a category.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: only (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use only in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/only. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.