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

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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

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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

There, Musk reports to a public board, as well as individual investors who make up around 30% of Tesla’s voting power, according to FactSet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Contenders are nominated by parliament's political groups as well as individual lawmakers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

“Our personnel responded to the location, contacted the individual identified in the complaints, followed up with reporting parties, and coordinated with the state agency responsible for wildlife management.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

The Welsh government said individual fire and rescue authorities determine how many firefighters they need and set their budgets accordingly.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The more they examined the individual bonds, the more they came to see patterns in the loans that could be exploited for profit.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

The union also raised concerns about a lack of funding for individuals and organisations who eventually take in the horses.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

The poster child of the worries has been Blue Owl, which aggressively courted individuals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Finance minister John Healey delivers the first budget of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's administration on October 28, also against a backdrop of rising borrowing costs for the government, businesses and individuals.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

“If companies want to make their Data Centers popular, pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a ‘dividend,’” he wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

Though he still chased bandits on horseback, the work was generally less dangerous; in many cases, it involved unmasking individuals who had filed false claims for reimbursements.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

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Related Words

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

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