single-handed

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   done by one person without help from anyone else

   Her single-handed rescue of the stranded crew drew national attention.

2. 2
   adv

   alone and without assistance

   He sailed the small boat single-handed across the Atlantic.

Formed from single + handed. Handed first referred to the use or possession of a hand, and the compound came to describe an action carried out with only one person's hands, hence without assistance.

Topics