alone

[[t]əlo͟ʊn[/t]]

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1) ADJ: v-link ADJ When you are alone, you are not with any other people.

There is nothing so fearful as to be alone in a combat situation...

He was all alone in the middle of the hall, looking at no-one.

ADV: ADV after v

Alone is also an adverb.

She has lived alone in this house for almost five years now... He was sitting alone at a table in a wine bar, smoking a big cigar.

2) ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n If one person is alone with another person, or if two or more people are alone, they are together, without anyone else present.

I couldn't imagine why he would want to be alone with me...

My brother and I were alone with Vincent.

3) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ If you say that you are alone or feel alone, you mean that nobody who is with you, or nobody at all, cares about you.

Never in her life had she felt so alone, so abandoned...

He found himself alone in a hostile world.

4) ADV: n ADV (emphasis) You say that one person or thing alone does something when you are emphasizing that only one person or thing is involved.

You alone should determine what is right for you...

They were convicted on forensic evidence alone.

5) ADV: n ADV (emphasis) If you say that one person or thing alone is responsible for part of an amount, you are emphasizing the size of that part and the size of the total amount.

The BBC alone is sending 300 technicians, directors and commentators...

Megastars like Jack Nicholson, who made ₤50 million from Batman alone, are unlikely to be affected.

6) ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ in -ing/n If someone is alone in doing something, they are the only person doing it, and so are different from other people.

Newcastle is far from alone. Colleges around the country have developed programmes of student support...

Am I alone in recognising that these two statistics have quite different implications?

Syn:

unique

ADV: ADV prep, n ADV

Alone is also an adverb.

Alone among the major candidates, Gaviria expressed a determination to continue the campaign to defeat the drugs cartels... I alone was sane, I thought, in a world of crazy people.

7) ADV: ADV after v When someone does something alone, they do it without help from other people.

Bringing up a child alone should give you a sense of achievement...

He was working alone and did not have an accomplice.

8) PHRASE: V inflects If you go it alone, you do something without any help from other people. [INFORMAL]

I missed the stimulation of working with others when I tried to go it alone.

9) leave someone or something alone → see leave

let alone → see let