standalone

American  

[stand-uh-lohn] / ˈstænd əˌloʊn /

Or stand-alone

adjective

1. complete unto itself; not being or understood as part of a set, system, or series; self-contained: The studio doubted that this story would find an audience as a stand-alone film.

   Our aerospace degree plan is a standalone program, and not a division of the mechanical engineering department.

   The studio doubted that this story would find an audience as a stand-alone film.

2. Computers. able to operate without other hardware or software.

   There are several standalone apps you can use to add live captioning to your videos.

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noun

1. a single work that may be understood and appreciated without knowledge of other episodes, books, issues, etc..

   The author has taken a break from the series to put out two standalones just in time for the holidays.

2. Computers. a device or program that does not need other hardware or software to fully function.

   A decent VR rig for your PC won’t be any cheaper than a standalone.

Etymology

Origin of standalone

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

“Our bull case is not dependent on the deal passing muster; we believe shares would trade at least at $180 on a standalone basis, with a high likelihood that Nexstar could guide 2026 above the Street even without making any bold claims around political,” Kurnos writes.

From The Wall Street Journal

The rollout reflects Alibaba’s broader push to turn Qwen from a standalone chatbot to an entry point for its consumer internet ecosystem, as large technology companies race to develop AI systems that can move beyond answering questions to executing real-world tasks across multiple services.

From The Wall Street Journal

L3Harris Technologies will spin off its missile business into a standalone entity through an initial public offering in late 2026.

From Barron's

It is the latest attempt by tennis authorities to attract new interest in the sport after the US Open introduced a standalone mixed doubles championship before the main draw last year.

From BBC

The U.S. had never staged a major standalone soccer competition before 1994 and the learning curve was steep.

From Los Angeles Times