single-handedly
Americanadverb
Usage
What does single-handedly mean? Single-handedly means done or accomplished alone—without help from anyone, as in Carol completed the project single-handedly—she did every last thing herself. Single-handedly is the adverb form of the adjective single-handed, which is used to describe something done by one person, as with a single-handed attempt. Single-handed can also be used as an adverb, as in Abdul sailed the boat single-handed. Single-handedly is also used in situations in which someone has done something without help from anyone else even though they were available, as in She single-handedly beat the other team—scoring the final 15 points of the game by herself. Example: Lori single-handedly solved the math equation that had stumped mathematicians for years.
Etymology
Origin of single-handedly
First recorded in 1880–85
Explanation
When you do something single-handedly, you do it on your own, with no help from anyone else. Superheroes are known for single-handedly defeating bad guys. Use the adverb single-handedly when a person achieves something independently, especially when it's especially admirable or difficult. Your mom might have single-handedly raised you and your siblings, or you might try to single-handedly move a dining room table out the front door before your yard sale. Single-handedly comes from the adjective single-handed, or "done without help," and both words have been in use since the early 1700's.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It's a fixture fraught with passion and rivalry - falling 40 years after Diego Maradona almost single-handedly dumped England out in the quarter-final stage in Mexico.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
But he proved on Saturday that he wasn’t done single-handedly turning World Cup matches on his own—he has now bagged eight of his 12 international goals at major tournaments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Six weeks later, Stokes was at it again, this time defeating Australia in the third Ashes Test at Headingley almost single-handedly with 135 not out.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Velazco’s claim is impossible to verify, though he believes he is single-handedly reviving the practice of making palm liquor out of tuba in Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
“What good is one lousy hero’? Joshua Lawrence.Chamberlain said something like that to me once, just before he single-handedly changed the course of your Civil War.”
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
