sole

¹ American  

[sohl] / soʊl /

adjective

1. being the only one; only.

   the sole living relative.

   Synonyms:

   solitary

2. being the only one of the kind; unsurpassed; unique; matchless.

   the sole brilliance of the gem.

   Synonyms:

   individual

3. belonging or pertaining to one individual or group to the exclusion of all others; exclusive.

   the sole right to the estate.

4. functioning automatically or with independent power.

   the sole authority.

5. Chiefly Law. not married; unmarried.

6. without company or companions; lonely.

   the sole splendor of her life.

7. Archaic. alone.

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sole ² American  

[sohl] / soʊl /

noun

1. the bottom or under surface of the foot.

2. the corresponding under part of a shoe, boot, or the like, or this part exclusive of the heel.

3. the bottom, under surface, or lower part of anything.

4. Carpentry.

   1. the underside of a plane.

   2. soleplate.

5. Golf. the part of the head of the club that touches the ground.

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verb (used with object)

soled, soling

1. to furnish with a sole, as a shoe.

2. Golf. to place the sole of (a club) on the ground, as in preparation for a stroke.

sole ³ American  

[sohl] / soʊl /

noun

• sole,
  plural
• soles
  plural

1. a European flatfish, Solea solea, used for food.

2. any other flatfish of the families Soleidae and Cynoglossidae, having a hooklike snout.

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sole ¹ British  

/ səʊl /

noun

1. the underside of the foot

2. the underside of a shoe

3. 1. the bottom of a furrow

   2. the bottom of a plough

4. the underside of a golf-club head

5. the bottom of an oven, furnace, etc

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verb

1. to provide (a shoe) with a sole

2. golf to rest (the club) on the ground, as when preparing to make a stroke

sole ² British  

/ səʊl /

adjective

1. (prenominal) being the only one; only

2. (prenominal) of or relating to one individual or group and no other

   sole rights on a patent

3. law having no wife or husband See also feme sole

4. an archaic word for solitary

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sole ³ British  

/ səʊl /

noun

1. any tongue-shaped flatfish of the family Soleidae, esp Solea solea ( European sole ): most common in warm seas and highly valued as food fishes

2. any of certain other similar fishes

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• soleness
  noun
• soleless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sole
  plural
• soles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sole¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sol(e), soul(e) “unmarried, single, alone,” from Old French sol, sol(e), sul, from Latin sōlus “alone, on one's own, lonely”

Origin of sole²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English (noun) sole, sol(le), from Old French sole, sol(le), soul, from Vulgar Latin, Medieval Latin sola, from Latin solea “plain sandal (fastened with thongs); sole (fish); foundation (timber),” derivative of solum “base, floor, bottom”

Origin of sole³

First recorded in 1250–1300; see origin at sole ² ( def. )

Explanation

Sole means not shared with others. If it's your sole responsibility to make the chocolate cake for a party, it's all on you. Sole comes from the Latin solus, meaning "alone," and it can describe being the only person involved in something, like being the sole member of the Special People Club. As a noun, your sole is the bottom of your foot. If you order sole in a restaurant, you'll get a flat fish that looks like the bottom of your shoe. Although they sound alike, if you order the soul, the waitperson might send you to a church down the street.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sole soles soled soling

Ramabai has been the family's sole provider since her husband died in 2012.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

His sole memory from the trial is of his brother waving at him during the only day he attended the proceedings.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

However Madrid has made no secret of its longer-term ambition -- to become Spain's sole Formula 1 destination and, as the city council puts it, establish itself as the "world capital of sport".

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

The man, the driver and sole occupant of the car, was traveling north on Grand Avenue and veered off the roadway and through a guardrail.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Once more Nathan was sole provider for us, and we forgot the good living we had known.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

She will re-glue the soles of her shoes so they last a little longer.

From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026

However, the company failed to retain consumers for its other products, including flip-flops with sugarcane-based soles and wool leggings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

He once bought a $117 pair of MSCHF’s Gobstomper shoes whose soles wear down to reveal differing colors in a nod to the hard-shell candy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

He was last seen wearing a quilted green-brown Barbour jacket over a beige woollen jumper, with navy chinos and brown leather trainers with white soles.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

The woman looked at him then, examining him from the soles of his muddy feet to his sweaty, cropped hair, and once more she smiled.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Then all you have to do is bend forward from the hips until your clubhead is soled behind the ball.

From Golf Digest ● Feb. 13, 2019

Early on, they were “skintight,” like a soled sock that crept up the leg.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2018

This is also where you buy your black plastic three-litre canteens and your electrolyte powder and the plimsolls soled with carpet that leave no prints.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 1, 2017

Any thinly soled sneakers or comfortable workout shoes will do.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2011

She’s wearing black stockings although it’s summer, and sandals, although the sandals are not dainty women’s summer sandals, but thick- soled and artistic, with primitive peasant buckles.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

But instead of soling the clubhead as usual, set it in front of the ball.

From Golf Digest ● Feb. 8, 2018

A friendly cobbler had taught him how to make boots and shoes, new soling and mending; and he once had the courage to suspend over his door the sign of a shoemaker's shop.

From Fifty-Two Stories For Girls by Alfred H. (Alfred Henry) Miles

What do you think I was charged for soling and heeling shoes?

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, February 12, 1919 by Various

The other evening while Ellen and I were developing films he was soling a pair of shoes.

From Three Years in Tristan da Cunha by Katherine Mary Barrow

Vat do you mean vid your bootless errands, and your soling and healing?

From The Fatal Boots by William Makepeace Thackeray

Related Words

• exclusive
• lone
• one and only
• remaining