one-on-one

[wuhn-on-wuhn, -awn-]

adjective

1. consisting of or involving direct individual competition, confrontation, or communication; person-to-person.

   a one-on-one discussion.

adverb

1. in direct encounter.

   I'd rather settle this with her one-on-one.

noun

1. a meeting or confrontation between two persons.

one-on-one

adjective

1. denoting a relationship or encounter in which someone is involved with only one other person

   a one-on-one meeting

Word History and Origins

Origin of one-on-one¹

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go one-on-one with, to play directly against (an opposing player).

A direct encounter between two persons, especially a conflict, as in The two department heads went one on one regarding shelf space. This slangy expression almost certainly comes from sports. It is commonly used to refer to a two-person basketball game, but is also applied to the interaction of two players on opposing teams in football, soccer, and similar team sports. [c. 1960]

Example Sentences

But South Africa and other developing countries argue that issues like reducing the cost of borrowing for poorer countries require the input of international institutions like the IMF and cannot be done through one-on-one deals.

Read more on BBC

Companies are striking deals one-on-one with the U.S.

Read more on Barron's

There’s a reason why I can never beat Autumn in one-on-one basketball; my endurance is, and has always been, embarrassingly low.

Read more on Literature

It usually meant he’d have to talk one-on-one with someone he didn’t know, which was pretty much his worst nightmare, whether they were a cat-murdering psychopath or not.

Read more on Literature

To gain buy-in, she has also done one-on-one outreach with some CEOs in New York and held meetings with various civic groups.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• antagonism 
• clash 
• conflict 
• contest 
• duel 
• encounter 
• event 
• fight 
• jealousy 
• matchup 
• race 
• strife 
• struggle 
• tug-of-war