one
one [one ones] number, determiner, pronoun [wʌn] [wʌn]
number, determiner
1. the number 1
• Do you want one or two?
• There's only room for one person.
• One more, please!
• a one-bedroomed apartment
• I'll see you at one (= one o'clock).
2. 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.
3. used for emphasis to mean ‘a single’ or ‘just one’
• There's only one thing we can do.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. the same
• They all went off in one direction.
8. (informal, especially NAmE) used for emphasis instead of a or an
• That was one hell of a game!
• She's one snappy dresser.
9. used with a person's name to show that the speaker does not know the person
Syn: certain
• He worked as an assistant to one Mr Ming.
more at all in one at all pron., be in a minority of one at minority, back to square one at square n.
Word Origin:
Old English ān, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch een and German ein, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin unus. The initial w sound developed before the 15th cent. and was occasionally represented in the spelling; it was not accepted into standard English until the late 17th cent.
Grammar Point:
one / ones
One/ones is used to avoid repeating a countable noun, but there are some times when you should not use it, especially in formal speech or writing:
After a possessive (my, your, Mary’s, etc.), some, any, both or a number, unless it is used with an adjective: ▪ ‘Did you get any postcards?’ ‘Yes, I bought four nice ones.’ ◊ I bought four ones.
It can be left out after superlatives, this, that, these, those, either, neither, another, which, etc: ▪ ‘Here are the designs. Which (one) do you prefer?’ ‘I think that (one) looks the most original.’
These ones and those ones are not used in NAmE, and are unusual in BrE: ▪ Do you prefer these designs or those?
It is never used to replace uncountable nouns and is unusual with abstract countable nouns: ▪ The Scottish legal system is not the same as the English system, is better than ▪ …as the English one.
Idioms: as one ▪ at one ▪ for one ▪ get one over somebody ▪ get something in one ▪ go one better ▪ in one ▪ one after the other ▪ one and all ▪ one and only ▪ one and the same ▪ one by one ▪ one for something ▪ one or two ▪ one up ▪ when you've seen/heard one/you've seen/heard them all
