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

West replicated the typical portfolio of a university endowment—some public stocks and bonds, plus loads of private assets—with funds that offer similar strategies for individual investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

“Atlas of the Roman Empire” is brisk and impartial, demonstrating how the Romans’ success in maintaining power owed more to their administrative proficiency than individual flair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Hold-in players fulfill basic requirements outlined in the collective bargaining agreement — such as attending meetings and doing individual work — to avoid mandatory fines from teams for not reporting to training camp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Mass or individual culls are generally restricted to notifiable disease control, welfare emergencies, or licensed slaughter.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Figure 2.9: Voices are as individual as faces; some altos will have a narrower or wider range, or the sweetest and most powerful part of their range in a different place than other altos.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Scam artists do use public obituaries, public records and stolen personal data to identify recently deceased individuals and their surviving relatives, or even former relatives like you.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

To represent the 10-year returns for each category of alternative assets, he used the largest fund offered to individuals that has a 10-year track record.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The report cited the rise of AI, which it said “allows criminal actors to potentially conduct successful fraud schemes against individuals, businesses, and financial institutions.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

"While we do not comment on individuals, we continue to work with Police Scotland, and other partners, to take action against those who attempt to breach our security."

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

He, however, sent out feelers to individuals who he thought might be sympathetic to the Klan viewpoint, people in positions to help the cause: policemen, firemen, low-ranking city officials.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

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