Meaning

8 senses
  1. (not comparable)Without others or anything further; exclusively.

    My heart is hers, and hers only.

    I threw out only him.

    nur, lediglich, allein

    то́лькоtólʹko, лишьlišʹ

    ті́лькиtílʹky, лише́lyšé

    without any others being included or involved

  2. (not comparable)No more than; just.

    The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.

    If there were only one more ticket!

    nur, lediglich

    то́лькоtólʹko, лишьlišʹ

  3. (not comparable)As recently as.

    c. 1924-1955, anonymous, The Urantia Book Only yesterday did I feed you with bread for your bodies; today I offer you the bread of life for your hungry souls.

    He left only moments ago.

    erst

    то́лькоtólʹko, всего́vsevó

    as recently as

  4. (not comparable)Emphasizing something that is just or necessary.

    It's only fair to let him borrow your kite, after you've had his toys all day.

    He'd been belittling her for years. It's only natural that she left.

  5. (UK, not comparable)Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.

    She's only gone and run off with the milkman!

  6. (Ireland, informal, not comparable)Just, simply, undoubtedly.

    Sure you're only gorgeous!

  7. (not comparable)Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.

    They rallied from a three-goal deficit only to lose in the final two minutes of play.

    I spent years studying a degree only to learn there was no requirement for such a certification.

  8. (not comparable, obsolete)Above all others; particularly.

Examples

17644 sentences
  1. There's only a little milk left.

    Лишилося лише трохи молока.

    ruМолока осталось совсем немного.

    deEs ist nur noch wenig Milch da.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. You gave me only fifty cents.

    Ти дав мені лише п'ятдесят центів.

    ruВы дали мне только пятьдесят центов.

    deDu hast mir nur fünfzig Cent gegeben.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. I can only speak for myself.

    Я можу говорити лише за себе.

    ruЯ могу говорить только за себя.

    deIch kann nur für mich sprechen.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. If only he had been there.

    Якби ж тільки він там був!

    ruЕсли бы он только был там.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  5. She has buried her only son.

    Вона поховала свого єдиного сина.

    ruОна похоронила единственного сына.

    deSie hat ihren einzigen Sohn beerdigt.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
without others or anything further; exclusively:
Русский
By meaning 2
without others or anything further; exclusively:
as recently as:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
without others or anything further; exclusively:
as recently as:

Origin

From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”

From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Synonyms

8 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

2 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
only — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto