individually
Americanadverb
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one at a time; separately.
The delegates were introduced individually.
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personally.
Each of us is individually responsible.
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in an individual or personally unique manner.
Her interpretation was individually conceived.
Etymology
Origin of individually
First recorded in 1590–1600; individual + -ly
Explanation
Anything done individually happens one at a time, separate from others. In baseball, each player bats individually. An individual is a single person, or you can refer to an individual thing, which is one thing. Likewise, anything described as happening individually happens one by one or separately. An only child is raised individually. Doctors usually see patients individually, not in groups. If you're in a single-file line, you're lined up individually. Think of the number one when you see or hear the word individually.
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.
All of items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils -- as well as a single left AirPod.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
South Africa were too skilful individually, too connected as a collective for England to make an imprint.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Carvalho’s spokesperson said each of the issues raised was offset by mitigating factors and that none of the cited actions — individually or collectively — would have justified Carvalho’s dismissal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
She replied individually to anyone who reached out through Levi’s website, treating each reader as a potential advocate, someone who might leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Rabi stitched together the new lab’s sponsoring consortium, known as Associated Universities, from nine large Eastern research institutions that would have been hard pressed to compete individually in the multimillion-dollar world of postwar high-energy physics.*
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
