cardinal number
- the lowest cardinal number; half of two; 1.
(Roman numeral: i or I.)
- a single person or thing.
▸single; sole.
▸denoting a particular item of a pair or number of items.
▸(before a person's name) a certain.
- identical; the same.
- informal a joke or story.
- informal, chiefly N. Amer. a noteworthy example of:
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he was one smart-mouthed troublemaker.
pron.
- referring to a person or thing previously mentioned or easily identified.
- a person of a specified kind.
-
[third person sing.]
used to refer to the speaker, or any person, as representing people in general.
Phrase
- at one
in agreement or harmony. - be one up on
informal have an advantage over (someone). - one after another
(or the other)
following one another in quick succession. - one and all
everyone. - one and only
unique; single. - one another
each other. - one by one
separately and in succession. - one day
at a particular but unspecified time in the past or future. - one or two
informal a few.
Derivative
Usage
In modern English one as a pronoun meaning ‘anyone’ or ‘me and people in general’, as in one must try one's best, is generally only used in formal and written contexts, and can be regarded as pompous or over-formal. In informal and spoken contexts the normal alternative is you, as in you have to do what you can, don't you?
Etymology
OE ān, of Gmc origin.
