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Added 10 October 2026

one-way

/wʌn.weɪ/ adjective

In Latin: irredux First recorded: 1906 Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about one-way at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Allowing movement, vision, etc. in only one direction; unidirectional.
one-way mirror
Allowing travel in only one direction.
I bought a one-way ticket to Leeds.
Of a function: easy to compute for every input, but hard to invert given the image of a random input.

verb

To use a disc harrow to turn the soil and kill weeds, in preparation for planting seeds.

noun

A one-way trip or flight.

Origin

From one + way. First attested in 1906 in reference to one-way tickets; 1914 in reference to one-way streets; 1940 in reference to one-way mirrors.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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