one-to-one

[ wuhn-tuh-wuhn ]

/ ˈwʌn təˈwʌn /

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adjective

Also one-one. (of the relationship between two or more groups of things) corresponding element by element.

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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

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Origin of one-to-one

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby one-to-one

one-suiter, one-tailed, one that loved not wisely but too well, One Thousand Guineas, one-time, one-to-one, one-track, one-track mind, one-trick pony, Onetti, one-two

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

How to use one-to-one in a sentence

The very fact of depicting at one-to-one carries special representational weight.
Magic Bus|Blake Gopnik|July 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“The closest I came to discussing this was in February 2009 when I had a one-to-one meeting,” Coltart said.
In Zimbabwe, a Longtime Foe Sees a Different Side of Robert Mugabe|Eli Lake|May 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
One-to-one relationships beg for attention as your ruler Pluto is challenged by Venus.
Zodiac Beast: April 24-30|Starsky + Cox|April 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Here are a few basic suggestions: In baking, sorghum can be used in place of molasses on a one-to-one basis.
Pancakes' New Topper|Stacey Slate|December 8, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The transformer below this has a one-to-one ratio, and is called the insulating transformer.
Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2|Kempster Miller
But there is not a one-to-one correspondence between sunspots and S-Regions.
Disturbing Sun|Robert Shirley Richardson
The ambition of the World Wide Web is to enable meaningful one-to-one and one-to-many interactions.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin
So by their one-to-one logic we should either hate back or go away.
Planet of the Damned|Harry Harrison

British Dictionary definitions for one-to-one

one-to-one

adjective

(of two or more things) corresponding exactly

denoting a relationship or encounter in which someone is involved with only one other personone-to-one tuition

maths characterized by or involving the pairing of each member of one set with only one member of another set, without remainder

noun

a conversation, encounter, or relationship between two people

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