single-handed

1 of 2

adjective

sin·​gle-hand·​ed ˌsiŋ-gəl-ˈhan-dəd How to pronounce single-handed (audio)
1
: managed or done by one person or with one on a side
2
: working alone or unassisted by others
single-handedly adverb

single-handed

2 of 2

adverb

: in a single-handed manner

Examples of single-handed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
At first, the team found that 60% of the crystals were single-handed. Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 6 Sep. 2023 This created a crystalline seed that caused additional like-handed RAOs to bind, eventually forming pure single-handed RAO crystals, the researchers reported last week in Science Advances. Byrobert F. Service, science.org, 13 June 2023 The Messer is a weapon often used in single-handed competitions. Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 3 May 2023 Nothing against lipsticks and mascaras and blushes, but there really is no one makeup product that can make more of a single-handed difference than concealer. Melanie Rud, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2023
Adverb
Elinor’s single-handed battle against the coldblooded gang is tied to this novel’s timely theme: how men have always underestimated women and how women have used that to their advantage. Carol Memmott, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2023 In a preprint paper published online today, OpenAI has managed to teach its robot hand to solve a much more difficult version of in-hand cube manipulation: single-handed solving of a 3x3 Rubik’s cube. IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'single-handed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1719, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of single-handed was in 1585

Dictionary Entries Near single-handed

Cite this Entry

“Single-handed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single-handed. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

single-handed

adjective
sin·​gle-hand·​ed
ˌsiŋ-gəl-ˈhan-dəd
1
: managed or done by one person
2
: working alone : lacking help
single-handedly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on single-handed

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!