one-way

[wuhn-wey]

adjective

1. moving, or allowing movement in one direction only.

   a one-way street.

2. valid for travel in one direction only.

   a one-way ticket.

3. without a reciprocal feeling, responsibility, relationship, etc..

   It's a one-way friendship.

4. not intended for return to a seller, dealer, etc., for reuse; disposable.

   one-way bottles.

one-way

adjective

1. moving or allowing travel in one direction only

   one-way traffic

2. entailing no reciprocal obligation, action, etc

   a one-way agreement

Word History and Origins

Origin of one-way¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

In the one-way broadcast channel, guests could only emoji-react, so the thread wasn’t cluttered with giant stickers or, say, off-color replies from an unfiltered uncle.

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The state eliminated one-way attorney fees, which let plaintiffs collect massive attorney fees from defendants and their insurers if they win a lawsuit—though not the other way around.

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It’s a one-way street, a process as remorseless as aging.

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Oleg Penkovsky stepped out of a Moscow apartment house and watched a brown car drive slowly past, heading the wrong way down a one-way street.

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“It’s a one-way ratchet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s elected representatives,” Gorsuch said.

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Related Words

• fee 
• gift 
• money 
• perk 
• reward