📒 the number 1
- Do you want one or two?
- There's only room for one person.
- One more, please!
📒 used in formal language or for emphasis before hundred, thousand, etc., or before a unit of measurement
- It cost one hundred and fifty pounds.
- He lost by less than one second.
📒 used for emphasis to mean ‘a single’ or ‘just one’
- There's only one thing we can do.
- There can only be one winner.
- Which do you prefer? The flowery one or the stripy one?
📒 a person or thing, especially when they are part of a group
- One of my friends lives in Brighton.
- One place I'd really like to visit is Bali.
📒 used for emphasis to mean ‘the only one’ or ‘the most important one’
- He's the one person I can trust.
- Her one concern was for the health of her baby.
- It's the one thing I can't stand about him.
📒 used when you are talking about a time in the past or the future, without actually saying which one
- I saw her one afternoon last week.
- One day (= at some time in the future) you'll understand.
📒 the same
- They all went off in one direction.
📒 used for emphasis instead of a or an
- That was one hell of a game!
- She's one snappy dresser.
📒 used with a person’s name to show that the speaker does not know the person
- He worked as an assistant to one Mr Ming.
📒 in agreement; all together
- We spoke as one on this matter.
📒 to feel that you completely agree with somebody/something, or that you are part of something
- a place where you can feel at one with nature
📒 a return to the situation you were in at the beginning of a project, task, etc., because you have made no real progress
- If this suggestion isn't accepted, we'll be back to square one.
📒 to be the only person to have a particular opinion or to vote a particular way
📒 used to emphasize that a particular person does something and that you believe other people do too
- I, for one, would prefer to postpone the meeting.
📒 to understand or guess something immediately
- ‘Oh, so she’s his sister!’ ‘Got it in one!’
📒 to get an advantage over somebody/something
- I'm not going to let them get one over on me!
📒 to do something better than somebody else or than you have done before
- She did well this year and next year she hopes to go one better.
📒 used to say that somebody/something has different roles, contains different things or is used for different purposes
- She's a mother and company director in one.
- It's a public relations office, a press office and a private office all in one.
📒 first one person or thing, and then another, and then another, up to any number or amount
- The bills kept coming in, one after another.
📒 everyone
- Happy New Year to one and all!
📒 used to emphasize that somebody is famous
- Here she is, the one and only Rihanna!
📒 used for emphasis to mean ‘the same’
- I never realized Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine were one and the same (= the same person using two different names).
📒 separately and in order
- I went through the items on the list one by one.
📒 a few
- We've had one or two problems—nothing serious.
📒 having an advantage over somebody
📒 used to say that all types of the things mentioned are very similar
- I don't like science fiction novels much. When you've read one, you've read them all.
📒 a very long time ago
- I've been going there every summer since the year one.