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

Portfolio managers and active investors use beta to evaluate how volatile an individual stock is compared with the broader market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

Companies, too, found ways to sell all natural products, flexibility and individual expression.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The company has described the result as "disappointing", but stressed that comparing individual years was complicated by rainfall levels.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

That means many of them can occupy the same quantum state without the repulsion that applies to individual fermions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

This might mean working with broad categories of Chinese, Indian or West African music, or narrow sub-cultures such as hip-hop music, Motown sound from the 1960s, or even the sound of an individual singer.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

"As concerned individuals, we are not seeking to build an organisation or alternative platform to the voices of the residents. We would only wish to amplify their voices."

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

"At the same time ... there is no lack of good initiatives. There is no lack of organisations or individuals who do good work," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

In the past, England were accused of being a team of world-class individuals without a system.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The researchers said this is the first large-scale study to investigate the benefits of patient navigation among pregnant and postpartum individuals.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

In fact, in some jurisdictions, individuals may “choose” to go to jail as a way to reduce their debt burdens, a practice that has been challenged as unconstitutional.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

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