one-way

[ wuhn-wey ]

/ ˈwʌnˈweɪ /

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See synonyms for one-way on Thesaurus.com

adjective

moving, or allowing movement in one direction only: a one-way street.

valid for travel in one direction only: a one-way ticket.Compare round trip.

without a reciprocal feeling, responsibility, relationship, etc.: It's a one-way friendship.

not intended for return to a seller, dealer, etc., for reuse; disposable: one-way bottles.

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-way

First recorded in 1815–25

Words nearby one-way

one-trick pony, Onetti, one-two, one up, one-upmanship, one-way, one-way mirror, one way or another, one-way ticket, one-woman, one-worlder

How to use one-way in a sentence

Lawmaking by legislatures is also a one-way ratchet—Legislators get credit for passing laws, not pruning them.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So I went straight to the airport, bought a one-way ticket, and flew out.
Laura Poitras on Snowden's Unrevealed Secrets|Marlow Stern|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That may not sound like much, but this was on a single day, driving 55 miles one-way.
Testing Automatic Link, the FitBit for Your Car|Jamie Todd Rubin|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The victim positively identified her two attackers through one-way glass and they were arrested.
Exclusive: ‘Hillary Clinton Took Me Through Hell,’ Rape Victim Says|Josh Rogin|June 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And yet he is too smart to despair that this is a one-way street.
Rackstraw Downes’s Art and Essays Are Two Sides of the Same Genius|Bill Morris|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The alien suddenly turned, though Duke could now see that they were in a section behind one-way glass.
Victory|Lester del Rey
Most of us are sure of a free one-way pass to that port some time or other, 'cording to the parson's tell.
Cape Cod Stories|Joseph C. Lincoln
In the eye-level center of each door was a bull's eye that looked like one-way glass and undoubtedly was.
Highways in Hiding|George Oliver Smith
It would be obviously unjust to compare a one-way fare with either excursion or commutation rates.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations|William Z. Ripley
This concept produces a one-way verbal flow for which the term “monologue” is descriptive.
Herein is Love|Reuel L. Howe

British Dictionary definitions for one-way

one-way

adjective

moving or allowing travel in one direction onlyone-way traffic

entailing no reciprocal obligation, action, etca one-way agreement

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

one-way

Origin of one-way

Words nearby one-way

Words related to one-way

How to use one-way in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for one-way