stand-alone

adjective

ˈstand-ə-ˈlōn 

variants or standalone

: complete in itself : self-contained sense 1a

All three drugs had FDA's blessing as stand-alone treatments for obesity, but the agency had never approved the combination.

—Kathleen Fackelmann

: such as

a

: intended, designed, or able to be used or to function alone or separately : not connected to or requiring connection to something else in order to be used or to function

Run on kerosene or diesel, stand-alone cabin heaters operate without electricity …

—Skip Novak

especially : operating or capable of operating independently of other software or hardware

Amazon, for example, wants to offer the app as a channel in its Prime Video suite, rather than a standalone app next to Prime. Doing so gives Amazon access to data such as watching habits and preferences.

—Kim Khan

The market has seen a number of more capable VR headsets hit shelves, the most recent being the standalone Oculus Quest, which doesn't require a PC like the Oculus Rift.

—Brittany A. Roston

b

: not being part of a larger work or series

a stand-alone film/novel

Many of these individual chapters read like stand-alone essays—nuanced, witty, and carefully polished accounts …

—John Brewer

Though the printed library reference works still exist as standalone products, the integrated and expanded versions help students understand how information is related and how to do research …

—James Lichtenberg

c

: belonging to but operating independently of a larger organization

Nike built the Jordan Brand into a massive standalone business with $3.1 billion in wholesale revenue …

—Kurt Badenhausen

d

: existing as a separate structure : not connected to or contained within another structure

The gallery is in a standalone building on the property on Portland Street.

—KiMi Robinson

According to the Chapter 11 filing, the closures will affect malls and standalone stores across the country.

—Áine Cain

stand-alone noun

or standalone

plural stand-alones or standalones

But now it is all paying off. His European growth is remarkable, both in department stores and standalones.

—Jim Cramer

This book is a companion to last year's Five Midnights, though it can be read as a standalone.

—Dahlia Adler

The system operates … as a standalone or within any graphics application, and supports most popular file formats.

—Industry Week

Examples of stand-alone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump routinely holds marathon press conferences at the White House and on the road, both in stand-alone formats or pegged onto the back-end of other public appearances. —Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 11 Mar. 2026

Still, Kipka knows that audit fatigue is a real phenomenon and that the industry has no appetite for another stand-alone tool. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 11 Mar. 2026

Politico reports that as part of this deal, Ticketmaster will let rival third-party companies (think SeatGeek, StubHub, and Eventbrite) use its technology to sell tickets on a stand-alone platform. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026

The loss secured a stand-alone last-place finish in the 18-team ACC, which means the Jackets won’t participate in the 15-team ACC Tournament. —Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 8 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stand-alone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone

Kids Definition

stand–alone

adjective

ˈstand-ə-ˈlōn 

: self-contained

especially : capable of operation independent of a computer system