single-handed

American  

[sing-guhl-han-did] / ˈsɪŋ gəlˈhæn dɪd /

adjective

1. accomplished or done by one person alone.

   a single-handed victory; single-handed sailing.

2. by one's own effort; unaided.

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adverb

1. by oneself; alone; without aid.

   He built the garage single-handed.

single-handed British  

adjective

1. unaided or working alone

   a single-handed crossing of the Atlantic

2. having or operated by one hand or one person only

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Usage

What does single-handed mean? Single-handed is used to describe something done or accomplished alone—without help from anyone, as in a single-handed attempt. It can also be used as an adverb meaning the same thing as single-handedly, as in Carol completed the project single-handed—she did every last thing herself. Single-handed is also used in situations in which someone has done something without help from anyone else even though they were available, as in She beat the other team single-handed—scoring the final 15 points of the game by herself. Example: This usually takes three or four people, so how did you manage to do it single-handed?

Other Word Forms

• single-handedly adverb
• single-handedness noun

Etymology

Origin of single-handed

First recorded in 1700–10

Explanation

If something is completely independent, with no help from anyone, it's single-handed. Your solo hiking expedition, for example, is single-handed. Use the adjective single-handed to describe something that's unassisted, or that's achieved without aid from other people. Your single-handed campaign for school president is undertaken without anyone's help, and your mom's single-handed parenting was done on her own. From the 1400's, the word single was used to mean "unsupported by others," and single-handed first came into use around 1700.

Example Sentences

He managed to accomplish virtually nothing: Almost none of his promises for single-handed economic revitalization, world domination, or intrepid urban crime-solving panned out.

From Slate • Feb. 14, 2024

Born Maria Anna Sophie Cecilia Kalogeropoulos in New York in December 1923 to Greek parents, Callas was credited with the almost single-handed revival of the Italian bel canto vocal technique.

From Reuters • Oct. 25, 2023

Interestingly, in an article Orwell wrote in 1940, he pinpoints the core of this strategy, writing that the manipulator portrays himself as a martyr, a victim, the "self-sacrificing hero who fights single-handed against impossible odds."

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2023

A search for a sailor who went missing while taking part in a single-handed sailing challenge has been stood down after his boat was found.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2023

Time after time, single-handed and on her hands and knees, she emptied all the cuspidors and scrubbed down the lobby of Grand Central Station.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey