one-way
Americanadjective
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moving, or allowing movement in one direction only.
a one-way street.
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valid for travel in one direction only.
a one-way ticket.
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without a reciprocal feeling, responsibility, relationship, etc..
It's a one-way friendship.
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not intended for return to a seller, dealer, etc., for reuse; disposable.
one-way bottles.
adjective
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moving or allowing travel in one direction only
one-way traffic
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entailing no reciprocal obligation, action, etc
a one-way agreement
Etymology
Origin of one-way
First recorded in 1815–25
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.
Imagine if death were also a one-way ticket to the tailor-made paradise of your desire.
From Salon
A last-minute one-way flight from Chicago to San Francisco, by comparison, was about $500.
In the one-way broadcast channel, guests could only emoji-react, so the thread wasn’t cluttered with giant stickers or, say, off-color replies from an unfiltered uncle.
The state eliminated one-way attorney fees, which let plaintiffs collect massive attorney fees from defendants and their insurers if they win a lawsuit—though not the other way around.
It’s a one-way street, a process as remorseless as aging.
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.