2one pronoun
1 : that person or thing
▪ “I'll have an iced tea, please.” “I'll have one, too.” ▪ Their dog died, but they plan to get another one. ▪ “You should wear the blue one.” “The one with the stripes?” “No, the other one.” ▪ I'd like to see the ring next to that one. ▪ Which one did you like better? ▪ He is the one who called the police. ▪ Have you heard the one about [=the joke about] the priest and the rabbi? ▪ That's one possible answer—but not the only one. ▪ He had one too many at the bar last night. [=he had too many alcoholic drinks at the bar] ◊This sense of one can be used in the plural form ones.
▪ The ones on the team who are most successful practice every day. ▪ Those batteries are the ones that still work. 2 : someone or something that is a part of a particular group — + of ▪ I met one of your friends at the party. ▪ She is one of the best players on the team. ▪ One of the puppies has a brown patch around its eye. ▪ He'll come back one of these days. [=someday] ▪ Don't worry—he's one of us. [=he is part of our group and can be trusted] 3 a somewhat formal : people in general : any person
▪ One never knows [=(more commonly) you never know] what the weather will be. ▪ It is now possible to buy just about anything from the privacy of one's [=(more commonly) your] own home.
b Brit, old-fashioned : I or we
▪ I would like to read more, but one doesn't have the time.
▪ “I'll have an iced tea, please.” “I'll have one, too.” ▪ Their dog died, but they plan to get another one. ▪ “You should wear the blue one.” “The one with the stripes?” “No, the other one.” ▪ I'd like to see the ring next to that one. ▪ Which one did you like better? ▪ He is the one who called the police. ▪ Have you heard the one about [=the joke about] the priest and the rabbi? ▪ That's one possible answer—but not the only one. ▪ He had one too many at the bar last night. [=he had too many alcoholic drinks at the bar] ◊This sense of one can be used in the plural form ones.
▪ The ones on the team who are most successful practice every day. ▪ Those batteries are the ones that still work.
▪ One never knows [=(more commonly) you never know] what the weather will be. ▪ It is now possible to buy just about anything from the privacy of one's [=(more commonly) your] own home.
b Brit, old-fashioned : I or we
▪ I would like to read more, but one doesn't have the time.
one after another — see 2another
one and all
one by one
: separately in a series
▪ The performers took the stage one by one.
▪ The performers took the stage one by one.
one in a million — see million
there's one born every minute — see born
— see also no one
