lone

American  

[lohn] / loʊn /

adjective

1. being alone; without company or accompaniment; solitary; unaccompanied.

   a lone traveler.

2. standing by itself or apart; isolated.

   a lone house in the valley.

   Synonyms:

   secluded, separate

3. sole; single; only.

   That company constitutes our lone competitor in the field.

4. unfrequented.

5. without companionship; lonesome; lonely.

6. unmarried or widowed.

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lone British  

/ ləʊn /

adjective

1. unaccompanied; solitary

2. single or isolated

   a lone house

3. a literary word for lonely

4. unmarried or widowed

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Related Words

See alone.

Other Word Forms

• loneness noun

Etymology

Origin of lone

1325–75; Middle English; aphetic var of alone, used attributively

Example Sentences

A lone shepherd respectfully doffs his hat as he finds himself in the presence of an angel trailing a long message: “I bring you tidings of great joy . . . ”

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, a few lone shoppers sprinkle into the store to get their weekly groceries as music blasts through the speakers.

From Los Angeles Times

Mrs Justice Smyth said: "I accept they were not acting as lone wolves, although neither was charged with membership of an organisation."

From BBC

At the end of class, Oduro saw a lone figure dressed in black and wearing a ski mask enter the lecture hall from a door at the top left.

From The Wall Street Journal

Murmurations of birds swirl above rugged plains, landscapes shift into geometric compositions, and uncanny juxtapositions—a shirt dangling from a tree as a lone bird swoops by—lend seemingly simple pictures eerie characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• lonely
• sole
• solitary