single-use

adjective

sin·​gle-use ˈsiŋ-gəl-ˈyüs 

variants or less commonly single use

: intended or designed to be used once and then discarded

single-use plastics

single-use paper products

Surgical masks are single-use face coverings that are designed to act as a barrier to sneezes or other potential exchanges of germs.

—Anandi Barker

Examples of single-use in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Caron’s document leans heavily on an economic analysis the packaging organization commissioned this past summer, which suggests the single-use plastic law could cost Californian households $1,000 a year each and up to $78 billion to implement. — Susanne Rust follow, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Say goodbye to single-use plastic baggies for good, courtesy of Stasher’s reusable food storage bags made from 100% food-grade platinum silicone. — Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Sep. 2026

Eco effort The team is implementing all the usual initiatives for a greener hotel—no single-use plastics in the rooms, bathrooms or restaurants; transfers are arranged with electric cars; and the use of bicycles is encouraged. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026

Hydropower supplies more than 90 percent of local electricity, single-use plastic bags and utensils are banned, and the city nearly doubles the national recycling average. — Abigail Bliss, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for single-use

• avenues
• barbecues
• cockatoos
• interviews
• kangaroos
• obliquus
• overshoes
• overuse
• overviews
• residues
• revenues
• tyrannus