single-handed

Single-handed is used to describe something done or accomplished alone—without help from anyone, as in a single-handed attempt.

It can also be used as an adverb meaning the same thing as single-handedly, as in Carol completed the project single-handed—she did every last thing herself. 

Single-handed is also used in situations in which someone has done something without help from anyone else even though they were available, as in She beat the other team single-handed—scoring the final 15 points of the game by herself. 

Example: This usually takes three or four people, so how did you manage to do it single-handed?

The first records of the term single-handed come from the 1700s. Single-handed and the adverb form single-handedly come from the concept of something being done by one pair of hands—that is, one person.

Single-handed is often used to emphasize the impressiveness of something having been performed by one person. It is used to highlight the fact that the task normally requires a group of people to do.

For this reason, single-handed is commonly used in hyperbolic descriptions of a person’s abilities or of the difficulty of the task they accomplished, as in Her single-handed voyage changed history.

What are some other forms related to single-handed?

• single-handedly (adverb)
• single-handedness (noun)

What are some synonyms for single-handed?

• single-handedly (when single-handed is used as an adverb)
• alone
• unassisted
• by oneself

What are some words that share a root or word element with single-handed? 

• single-handedly
• single-hand
• single
• hand

What are some words that often get used in discussing single-handed?

• alone
• without
• help
• solo
• themselves
• accomplish
• achieve

Single-handed is used to indicate that someone accomplished a (usually impressive) task by themselves.

My point is that while no one has an issue with the legality of caring for your older relative, most people can’t do it single handed for 24 hours a day. It’s too hard.

— Trisha Elliott (@Trisha_the_doc) January 7, 2018

Going Solo: remarkable story of Ken Russell's single-handed attempt to win the Tour of Britain http://t.co/7QsZEzUa51

— Joel Gunter (@joelmgunter) July 7, 2014

“If life be a war, it seemed my destiny to conduct it single-handed.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Villette #qotd

— Vintage/Anchor Books (@VintageAnchor) June 30, 2014

Is single-handed used correctly in the following sentence?

The carpenter managed to repair the bridge single-handed, with help from his assistants.