single-handedly
Americanadverb
Usage
What does single-handedly mean? Single-handedly means done or accomplished alone—without help from anyone, as in Carol completed the project single-handedly—she did every last thing herself. Single-handedly is the adverb form of the adjective single-handed, which is used to describe something done by one person, as with a single-handed attempt. Single-handed can also be used as an adverb, as in Abdul sailed the boat single-handed. Single-handedly is also used in situations in which someone has done something without help from anyone else even though they were available, as in She single-handedly beat the other team—scoring the final 15 points of the game by herself. Example: Lori single-handedly solved the math equation that had stumped mathematicians for years.
Etymology
Origin of single-handedly
First recorded in 1880–85
Explanation
When you do something single-handedly, you do it on your own, with no help from anyone else. Superheroes are known for single-handedly defeating bad guys. Use the adverb single-handedly when a person achieves something independently, especially when it's especially admirable or difficult. Your mom might have single-handedly raised you and your siblings, or you might try to single-handedly move a dining room table out the front door before your yard sale. Single-handedly comes from the adjective single-handed, or "done without help," and both words have been in use since the early 1700's.
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.
Kyl was single-handedly responsible for forcing the government to upgrade the eroding U.S. nuclear arsenal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Most memorable of all was on the final day of the 1994-95 season, when he single-handedly kept out the attacking might of Manchester United to deny them a third consecutive Premier League title.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Susan Jordan, who single-handedly runs the California Coastal Protection Network out of her kitchen in Santa Barbara, was somewhere between flabbergasted and apoplectic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
For another quarter, Coach drove sales growth single-handedly, offsetting a decline in the Kate Spade brand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Gale, who is eighteen and has been either helping or single-handedly feeding a family of five for seven years, will have his name in forty-two times.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
