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

Under Fifa rules, agencies are allowed to sign players to contracts that make them the sole representatives in a country like England for a specific period of time.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Democrat Frederick Haynes III, who is running to replace Rep. Jasmine Crockett in her Dallas district, is the sole potential incoming member who has not filed a financial disclosure.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

According to her complaint, Tenisha and Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s premarital agreement stated that the actor should purchase and maintain a term life insurance policy of $1 million with his wife as the sole beneficiary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Somehow, they have become the sole experts on all subjects, from air pollution to monetary policy to human biology.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

“If this horse keeps working, his coffin bone will rotate until it punctures his sole, and then you’ll lose him,” I say unequivocally.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

The shoes sport chunky soles with rigid, curved carbon plates and lightweight foam, and Nike asserts they improve running economy by as much as 4%.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

A decade ago, Nike created mysterious prototypes featuring giant soles and rigid interior plates that functioned like springs, unleashing the “super shoe” era across the sport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

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

From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026

Anisimova, beaten in last year's Wimbledon and US Open finals, showed the first signs of frustration as she whacked the soles of her trainers with her racquet.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

She felt the soles of her tennis shoes slipping, and eased herself down so that she straddled the peak of the roof.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

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

Norman stood with his legs spread wide and his arms and legs stiff, the clubhead soled about a foot behind the ball.

From Golf Digest ● Oct. 16, 2013

It would be almost impossible to miss the elegance of the Milanese in summer, the women in sleeveless shifts and high-heeled sandals, the men in brightlycolored cotton trousers and rubber soled driving shoes.

From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2012

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

For the soling of them were made use of eleven hundred hides of brown cows, shapen like the tail of a keeling.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 1 by Motteux, Peter Anthony

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

From The Fatal Boots by Thackeray, William Makepeace

The greater part of the next day Jerome passed, as usual, soling shoes in Ozias Lamb's shop.

From Jerome, A Poor Man A Novel by Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins

I searched the pockets with repugnance and found a few papers, which smelled like the covers of ancient books, memoranda of miserable little transactions--threepence paid for soling shoes, twopence here, a penny there; nothing more.

From The Maid-At-Arms by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)

Related Words

• exclusive
• lone
• one and only
• remaining