individual

American  

[in-duh-vij-oo-uhl] / ˌɪn dəˈvɪdʒ u əl /

noun

• individuals
  plural

1. a single human being, as distinguished from a group.

2. a person.

   A strange individual came around asking if we wanted to buy any lamps.

3. a distinct, indivisible entity; a single thing, being, instance, or item.

4. a group considered as a unit.

5. Biology.

   1. a single organism capable of independent existence.

   2. a member of a compound organism or colony.

6. Cards. a duplicate-bridge tournament in which each player plays the same number of hands in partnership with every other player, individual scores for each player being kept for each hand.

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adjective

1. single; particular; separate.

   It's standard practice to number individual copies of a limited edition.

2. intended for the use of one person only.

   Servers handed out individual portions of a pizza to guests at the party.

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular person or thing.

   The decor was highly reflective of his individual tastes.

4. distinguished by special, singular, or markedly personal characteristics; exhibiting unique or unusual qualities.

   She was known for her highly individual style of painting.

5. existing as a distinct, indivisible entity, or considered as such; discrete.

   It can be difficult to replace individual parts of a tea set if one breaks.

6. belonging to a set or group of which each is different or of a different design from the others.

   For Christmas they got a set of individual coffee cups.

individual British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or meant for a single person or thing

2. separate or distinct, esp from others of its kind; particular

   please mark the individual pages

3. characterized by unusual and striking qualities; distinctive

4. obsolete indivisible; inseparable

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noun

1. a single person, esp when regarded as distinct from others

2. biology

   1. a single animal or plant, esp as distinct from a species

   2. a single member of a compound organism or colony

3. logic

   1. Also called: particular.  an object as opposed to a property or class

   2. an element of the domain of discourse of a theory

Usage

As a synonym for person, individual is standard, occurring in all varieties of speech and writing: Three individuals entered the room, each carrying a sheaf of papers. Some object to this use, insisting that individual can mean only “a single human being, as distinguished from a group”: An individual may have concerns that are ignored by their party.

Synonym Usage

See person.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interindividual
  adjective
• nonindividual
  adjective
• superindividual
  adjective
• transindividual
  adjective
• individually
  adverb
• superindividually
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• individuals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of individual

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, equivalent to Latin indīviduus “indivisible” (from in- negative prefix + dīviduus “divided or divisible into two parts”) + -ālis adjective suffix; cf. in- ³, divide, -al ¹

Explanation

The word individual is all about being a single entity that cannot be divided. It can mean person or even personal. A team is made up of individuals, and each individual has individual strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes individual is a way of referring to a person, quasi-formally. You might elevate the phrase "This guy walks into my shop," by saying, "This individual walks into my shop." You might also hear this word when talking about things that are divided: foods designed for lunchboxes, such as potato chips or juice boxes, are often prepackaged into individual servings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

individual individuals

Choedup, the monk, said the day before Rangzen died he talked about Tibetans' individual responsibility to seek freedom.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

Any individual who uses such equipment near wildlands must clear flammable vegetation around a specific work area and maintain firefighting tools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Because this is associated with an individual case and individual person, I think that's where the worry lies here for me, because who else is this going to then open up this opportunity for?"

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Shares have yet to see a day of net selling by individual investors since their listing, according to Vanda Research.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Train cars were lined up, people thronging so thick it was impossible to make out individual bodies.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

According to the figures, since then there has been a 50% rise in individuals being returned to their home countries, a total of 2,357.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The rest became ill after traveling internationally, it’s unclear where the sick individuals had traveled to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Somewhere in the middle, the rest of us wondered how absorbing such horror would change us, whether as individuals or as a society.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Flatworms are highly effective at rebuilding their own bodies, but these fused "Frankenstein" worms rejected tissue from unrelated individuals.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

Sociological research has shown that the maximum ‘natural’ size of a group bonded by gossip is about 150 individuals.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• lone
• original
• particular
• personal
• respective
• separate
• single
• singular
• sole
• special
• specific