How to Use only in a Sentence

only

1 of 2 adjective

• Reyes was the only one who stepped up.
  — Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
• Karen is far from the only one who feels that way.
  — Chelsea Brasted, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
• The only goal was to find a body to fill the spot.
  — Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
• But that's not the only place the song will pop up.
  — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 15 May 2026
• The only hit to that point should not have been one.
  — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
• These aren’t the only clogs worth adding to your cart this spring.
  — Aashna Gheewalla, PEOPLE, 18 Apr. 2026
• Dior isn’t the only skin-care brand to be on the laser trail.
  — Kathleen Baird-Murray, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
• The man was the only person in the car.
  — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
• The only place to do that on a plane is bathroom.
  — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
• Legend was the only judge to turn his chair.
  — Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 11 Mar. 2026
• Are those the only bodies that are out there?
  — April 8, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026
• But that’s not the only night for a solid show.
  — Stephanie Vermillion, Outside, 18 Feb. 2026
• The only way to nip this in the bud is to be direct.
  — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
• The only guy bigger than the star is the one who owns it.
  — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
• The only sin is in failing to ask.
  — Kevin Sherrington feb. 18, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
• The line is crossed when price becomes the only hook.
  — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
• Shampoo isn’t the only way to get silky smooth hair.
  — Michelle Baricevic, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026
• Pens are the only team that has hosted twice at the same place.
  — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
• The only way to get it is through more fees and more taxes.
  — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026
• But that’s not the only way to keep score in the final round.
  — Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2023
• And right now, that’s the only truth that matters.
  — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 Jan. 2026
• My only weapon is, just stay funny.
  — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025
• That’s not the only downtown change.
  — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026
• Field size isn’t the only factor.
  — AJC.com, 13 June 2026
• Brady was the only parent home at the time of the drowning.
  — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
• Knight and Plumb weren't the only cast members to date.
  — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 1 May 2026
• This isn’t the only Jardine show on the books for this year.
  — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 4 Feb. 2026
• This soundtrack is still the only solo project from one of them.
  — Matt Thompson, SPIN, 15 Dec. 2023
• Ziegler adds that the only relief came hours into each day.
  — Kennedy French, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
• But even that only score was shrouded in a bit of head-scratching.
  — Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025

only

2 of 2 adverb

• The club is for women only.
• She had been there only twice in her life.
• It was quiet in the room, but only for a moment.
• She is only partly to blame.
• He was only a baby when his father died.
• It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
• Leave her alone. She's only a kid.
• Do you really have to leave? It's only eight o'clock.
• There are only two more weeks until summer vacation.
• The building is only about 10 years old.
• Prescott was hit only four times.
  — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
• Yet, a fan’s love can only take a group so far.
  — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
• West Ham won only one of their next five games.
  — Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
• Who says summer camp fun is only for kids?
  — Robin Roenker, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
• In the past few years, only 60% did.
  — Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
• To be sure, polls are only a snapshot in time.
  — David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
• But that kind of pantomime can only take the project so far.
  — Sheldon Pearce, NPR, 29 Jan. 2026
• But those are only a few ways to dress up this classic recipe.
  — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
• But that only happens where states let it.
  — Iulia Lupse, Sun Sentinel, 24 May 2026
• He has been caught stealing only three times.
  — Will Sammon, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
• That silent fear comes back as an earnout, where you only get paid if that client stays.
  — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
• This is only the season’s first game.
  — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
• The Knicks, of course, can only play who’s in front of them.
  — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 24 May 2026
• Thank goodness this was only four episodes.
  — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
• At some point, cities no longer burned down, only blocks or buildings did.
  — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
• The Falcons only got one run out of it.
  — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 May 2026
• A lot of coat checks are still cash only, so bring a $5 bill with you to shows.
  — The Editors, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2026
• And yet the value of a novel isn’t only in its prose.
  — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026
• This is only one of many changes meant to bring the book in line with present teen knowledge.
  — John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026
• And this party’s only about to get Wilder.
  — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 10 May 2026