one-way
Americanadjective
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moving, or allowing movement in one direction only.
a one-way street.
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valid for travel in one direction only.
a one-way ticket.
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without a reciprocal feeling, responsibility, relationship, etc..
It's a one-way friendship.
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not intended for return to a seller, dealer, etc., for reuse; disposable.
one-way bottles.
adjective
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moving or allowing travel in one direction only
one-way traffic
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entailing no reciprocal obligation, action, etc
a one-way agreement
Etymology
Origin of one-way
First recorded in 1815–25
Explanation
Something that's one-way only allows movement in one direction. A one-way street is marked with an arrow, and you better follow it! All cars, bikes, and motorcycles travel in the same direction on a one-way road, and you can say that traffic on one side of a divided highway is also one-way. You might encounter a one-way door at a supermarket, or a one-way line for entering a ride at an amusement park. You can also buy a one-way ticket on a bus or airplane, instead of a round trip that includes your ticket home.
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.
Monthly passes will rise 20%, from $10 to $12, while one-way tickets — the prices of which vary by distance — will go up 14%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
The entire market has become so expensive, by so many measures, that one-way bets, the investments Buffett liked to call “fat pitches,” are hard to find.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
This will be a very different task for Maresca's men, with the emphasis on them breaking down the Black Cats, but I don't feel it will just be one-way traffic.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
A reader searching for a one-way flight from Miami to Charleston, S.C., ended up booking through a company called Flight Network instead of directly with the airline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
To trick him into giving scientific talks, his friends would stuff him into a taxicab and pay a one-way fare to the destination.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
