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

Many hotels have abandoned single-use amenities, and the JW Marriott has followed that move by installing refillable shampoo and other containers. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026

The same day, Stripe announced Muse integration with Link, enabling instant checkout at more than 1 million businesses and use of single-use virtual cards. — Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026

The single-use, disposable mini-PCR device is paired with the company’s telemedicine app, built in partnership with Google Cloud's Health + AI and Optum Now, to help patients obtain a prescription, if needed, in under two hours. — Charlotte Hu, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

An employee didn’t wash hands before donning single-use gloves for food preparation. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 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