individual

American  

[in-duh-vij-oo-uhl] / ˌɪn dəˈvɪdʒ u əl /

noun

individuals plural

1. a single human being, as distinguished from a group.

2. a person.

   A strange individual came around asking if we wanted to buy any lamps.

3. a distinct, indivisible entity; a single thing, being, instance, or item.

4. a group considered as a unit.

5. Biology.

   1. a single organism capable of independent existence.

   2. a member of a compound organism or colony.

6. Cards. a duplicate-bridge tournament in which each player plays the same number of hands in partnership with every other player, individual scores for each player being kept for each hand.

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adjective

1. single; particular; separate.

   It's standard practice to number individual copies of a limited edition.

2. intended for the use of one person only.

   Servers handed out individual portions of a pizza to guests at the party.

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular person or thing.

   The decor was highly reflective of his individual tastes.

4. distinguished by special, singular, or markedly personal characteristics; exhibiting unique or unusual qualities.

   She was known for her highly individual style of painting.

5. existing as a distinct, indivisible entity, or considered as such; discrete.

   It can be difficult to replace individual parts of a tea set if one breaks.

6. belonging to a set or group of which each is different or of a different design from the others.

   For Christmas they got a set of individual coffee cups.

individual British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or meant for a single person or thing

2. separate or distinct, esp from others of its kind; particular

   please mark the individual pages

3. characterized by unusual and striking qualities; distinctive

4. obsolete indivisible; inseparable

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noun

1. a single person, esp when regarded as distinct from others

2. biology

   1. a single animal or plant, esp as distinct from a species

   2. a single member of a compound organism or colony

3. logic

   1. Also called: particular.  an object as opposed to a property or class

   2. an element of the domain of discourse of a theory

Usage

As a synonym for person, individual is standard, occurring in all varieties of speech and writing: Three individuals entered the room, each carrying a sheaf of papers. Some object to this use, insisting that individual can mean only “a single human being, as distinguished from a group”: An individual may have concerns that are ignored by their party.

Synonym Usage

See person.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interindividual
  adjective
• nonindividual
  adjective
• superindividual
  adjective
• transindividual
  adjective
• individually
  adverb
• superindividually
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• individuals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of individual

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, equivalent to Latin indīviduus “indivisible” (from in- negative prefix + dīviduus “divided or divisible into two parts”) + -ālis adjective suffix; cf. in- ³, divide, -al ¹

Explanation

The word individual is all about being a single entity that cannot be divided. It can mean person or even personal. A team is made up of individuals, and each individual has individual strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes individual is a way of referring to a person, quasi-formally. You might elevate the phrase "This guy walks into my shop," by saying, "This individual walks into my shop." You might also hear this word when talking about things that are divided: foods designed for lunchboxes, such as potato chips or juice boxes, are often prepackaged into individual servings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

individual individuals

His confirmation could also help revive negotiations over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the US government to collect communications involving foreigners abroad without an individual warrant.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

The city intends to notify individual homeowners of their pied-à-terre tax bills by Aug. 30, and homeowners can appeal the decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The court heard that the surety had been provided by an individual in County Mayo, along with their bank details.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

The growth in Microsoft 365 Copilot seats, which are individual user licenses, will be another signal of the company’s progress on AI monetization.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

To define yourself as an activist, an artist, an individual.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

None of these named individuals could be reached for comment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The study also found that individuals involved in e-bike collisions suffer more injuries than those in collisions involving traditional bicycles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

A famous study showed that individuals often fail in this allocation problem, literally leaving free money on the table.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

This month, Venezuela and the military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger also started the process of leaving the ICC, based in The Hague, which prosecutes individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

But eventually, I began to know the screechers as individuals.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

Related Words

• lone
• original
• particular
• personal
• respective
• separate
• single
• singular
• sole
• special
• specific