one-horse

[ wuhn-hawrs, -hohrs ]

/ ˈwʌnˈhɔrs, -ˈhoʊrs /

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adjective

using or having only a single horse: a one-horse carriage.

small and unimportant; limited: a one-horse town.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of one-horse

First recorded in 1740–50

Words nearby one-horse

Onega, Onega Bay, One good turn deserves another, Oneg Shabbat, one-handed, one-horse, one-horse town, Oneida, Oneida Community, Oneida Lake, One if by land, and two if by sea

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use one-horse in a sentence

Sure, coincidences happen, but these guys make big cities look like one-horse villages.
‘Made in Chelsea’ Has a New York Moment|Tim Teeman|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
John Brown drove his one-horse farm-wagon, and the men straggled behind him.
Historic Adventures|Rupert S. Holland
Sixteen men at Hankow to carry baggage that one man and a one-horse dray would carry in New York.
Where Half The World Is Waking Up|Clarence Poe
At that time there were not half a dozen one-horse wagons in the whole town.
History of the American Clock Business for the Past Sixty Years, and Life of Chauncey Jerome|Chauncey Jerome

In our one-horse buggy, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter drove ahead of the party, and he crawled into the garrison.
Mary and I|Stephen Return Riggs
As to salary—well, I don't know what you're getting in that one-horse bank, but I'll double it, whatever it is.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine|Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for one-horse

one-horse

adjective

drawn by or using one horse

(prenominal) informal small or obscurea one-horse town

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012