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one

one [ wun ] (plural ones) CORE MEANING: a grammatical word indicating a single thing or unit, and not two or more
 (adj) just one accident out of thousands
 (adj) a one-legged man
 (pron) Central Newark, once home to several bank branches, now has one.
 (pron) Bill got one of his boxing gloves off.
Definition:
 
1. adjective unique: used to indicate the only thing or person with a specific characteristic
the one exception to this

2. adjective used to distinguish something: distinct from others of its kind
from one thought to the next

3. adjective at nonspecific time: relating to an unspecified time in the past or future
one August afternoon

4. adjective used for emphasis: used instead of "a" and "an" to emphasize a following adjective or expression ( informal )
He's one cool customer!

5. adjective particular: introducing the name of somebody who is not known to the speaker
a letter from one Thomas Atherton of Southport

6. pron typical individual: used to refer to people in general ( formal )
One can eat well here.

7. pron somebody or something unspecified: used to indicate somebody or something not specifically identified ( dated )
the voice of one crying in the wilderness

8. pron previously mentioned: used instead of a preceding noun to indicate somebody or something already mentioned
nothing but an old vase, and a cracked one at that

9. pron joke or story: used to refer to a question, joke, or remark
That's a good one!

10. noun 1: the number 1. It is the smallest whole number, designating a single unit, and the first cardinal number.

11. noun something with value of 1: something in a numbered series with a value of one
to throw a one

12. noun U.S. dollar bill: a one-dollar bill ( informal )

13. noun time measure: used to indicate the time as one hour after twelve midday or midnight
We'll stop for lunch at one.

14. noun music musical notation: the numeral 1 used as the bottom figure in a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in whole notes

[ Old English ān< Indo-European]

all one not important enough to be of any consequence to somebody
It's all one to me.


as one doing something at the same time or in the same way

at one in harmony with somebody or something

be or get one up on somebody to have or gain an advantage over somebody (informal)

one and all everyone in a group

one and only 

1. 
unique and without comparisonoften used to introduce a performer on a show
 

2. 
the person that somebody loves


one by one happening individually in sequence

one or two a few people or things

one after another or the other following individually in swift succession
One after another they all left the room.


one and the same the same person or thing

one time 

1. 
immediately
 

2. 
completely
 

3. 
used to add emphasis



Word Usage
one of those people who is... or one of those people who are...?

Sense determines whether the verb in a construction of this type should be singular or plural, and in any given case one choice is right and the other wrong. To decide which verb form to choose, start with the of. For example, He is one of those people who is/are always trying to impress is not equivalent in meaning to Of those people, he is one who is always trying to impress. Rather, the idea is Of those people who are always trying to impress, he is one. Here the form of the verb to be is not governed by one but by people, and therefore one of those people who are is right. In the following example the choice of the form of "to be" is governed by "only": He is the only one of those people who is worth talking to. Here the idea is Of those people, he is the only one who is worth talking to, so in this case one of those people who is is right.

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