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

All of the bonus tracks on the CD and download album variants were not available to purchase as stand-alone tracks through any retailer, nor available to stream through an official service. —Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2024

In addition to Junior, Garden, and MC suites, there’s also a roster of one-of-a-kind Unique Suites and Grand Suites, plus several stand-alone villas and bungalows. —Devorah Lev-Tov, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2024

The elegance of a powered speaker is that dedicated amplifiers and crossovers are packaged in each enclosure, so that speaker cables and costly stand-alone electronics aren’t required. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2024

In 2021, only 18% of Medicare Advantage drug plan enrollees and 31% of stand-alone drug plan members checked their plan's benefits and costs against competitors', KFF researchers found. —Susan Jaffe, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

stand–alone

adjective

ˈstand-ə-ˈlōn

: self-contained

especially : capable of operation independent of a computer system