one-on-one
adjective
consisting of or involving direct individual competition, confrontation, or communication; person-to-person.
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one-on-one
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one on one
one on oneA 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]
one-on-one
American
[wuhn-on-wuhn, -awn-]
/ ˈwʌn ɒnˈwʌn, -ɔn- /
adjective
adverb
noun
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one-on-ones
plural
idioms
one-on-one
British
adjective
one on one
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of one-on-one
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
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.
See Examples For:
The private dinner is the first one-on-one meeting between the two men, according to US media including Axios, which first reported the dinner plan.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
“Ted, you suck! Ted, you suck!” several hundred students chanted for nearly 10 minutes on Saturday morning, standing behind the Republican and booing as Davis attempted to conduct a one-on-one interview.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Destroys on stage during our weekly “Roast Battle” competition on Tuesdays in the Belly Room where comedians face off in a brutally funny one-on-one insult slug fest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Tennessee musician James Rogers, president of the board of the American Eagle Foundation - which joined forces with Dollywood for a bald eagle sanctuary - recalled the singer's unrivalled kindness and one-on-one attentiveness.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Watching them play one-on-one was like watching two dance partners perform their greatest hits.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
He said that Nesbitt had "served with compassion and with dignity" and that he is willing to speak to him "one on one".
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Texas A&M’s M.B.A. candidates are required to do intense preparation before career fairs, and a counselor met with him one on one to help him prepare for specific interviews and practice salary negotiations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
First they went against each other one on one on Tuesday in front of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
The leaders then spent more than half an hour talking one on one, before a classic of the Trumpian genre – a rolling, free-wheeling question-and-answer session with reporters, lasting more than an hour.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2025
“You ain’t man enough to go one on one against the Great Santini.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
She also schedules weekly one-on-ones with her direct reports and makes a point of not checking emails or doing anything else to divide her attention during those meetings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“The years of ‘Your Special Day’ of one-on-ones with each grandkid are some of their fondest memories,” the family said in her obituary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
Then it's just creating one-on-ones for our powerful ball carriers.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2024
According to the Microsoft report, nearly three-quarters of people managers believe more guidance on what to prioritize would improve their performance, but more than two-thirds say their managers have never given clear guidance in one-on-ones.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
In one-on-ones, advantage is to the shooter, especially if he’s as good as this guy.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
