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.
“I think he may have single-handedly invented a new way to do literary events. I don’t know what to call it ... a literary roast?,”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Haughty, hectoring and pleased with herself, she is single-handedly wrecking her hen-pecked husband Gavin’s lofty political ambitions.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 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
The answer will almost single-handedly determine whether France can live up to its billing as a World Cup favorite or crash out in a drama of brooding resentment worthy of a Palme d’Or.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
As an agent for the Union Pacific, he single-handedly saved Colorado’s wool trade during a blizzard by ramming locomotive plows through snowdrifts to open the tracks for trains bearing sheep feed.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
