single-handed

single-handed

See also: singlehanded and single handed

English

Alternative forms

• single handed, singlehanded

Adjective

single-handed (not comparable)

1. Without help from others; unassisted.
   • 1962 April, “Motive power miscellany: Western Region”, in Modern Railways, page 280:

     It worked through from Swindon with a test train of 16 coaches and the new W.R. dynamometer car, the whole totalling 571 tons; this is one of the heaviest trains ever worked by a single-handed locomotive over the South Devon banks—in fact, it was competently restarted from a test stop on Dainton bank.

2. Using only one hand.
3. Designed for only one hand.

Translations

without help from others; unassisted

Bulgarian: без чужда помощ (bez čužda pomošt) Chinese: Mandarin: 獨力／独力 (zh) (traditional), 独力 (zh) (dúlì) (simplified) Irish: dólámhach Italian: in solitaria Manx: un-laueagh Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: са̑м Roman: sȃm (sh) Swedish: enmans-

using only one hand

Bulgarian: с една ръка (s edna rǎka) Manx: un-laueagh Swedish: enhands-

Adverb

single-handed (not comparable)

1. In a single-handed manner.
   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1962, OCLC 751607287, page 21:

     "Got those [sc. scars] with a broken bottle, arresting two toughs at once," he said, replacing his cap. "Run them in single-handed and had a set-to in the cell with them on top of it."

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:by oneself

Translations

in a single-handed manner

Chinese: Mandarin: 獨力／独力 (zh) (traditional), 独力 (zh) (simplified) Swedish: på egen hand (sv), egenhändigt (sv)

Verb

single-handed

1. simple past tense and past participle of single-hand

References

• “single-handed”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.