From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_702_zalonea‧lone /əˈləʊn $ əˈloʊn/ ●●● S2 W1 adjective [not before noun], adverb 1 ALONEif you are alone in a place, there is no one with you SYN by yourself She lives alone. You shouldn’t leave a child alone in the house. My wife and I like to spend time alone together away from the kids.RegisterIn everyday English, people often say by yourself or on your own rather than alone:She lives by herself/on her own.2 ALONEwithout any friends or people you know It was scary being all alone in a strange city. She was all alone in the world (=she had no family or friends to help her or look after her).3 ALONEfeeling unhappy and lonely I cried like a child because I felt so alone.4 without any help from other people He was left to raise their two children alone.5 EMPHASIZEwithout including anything else The case will cost thousands of pounds in legal fees alone. 6 → you/he etc alone7 → go it alone8 → leave somebody alone9 → leave something alone10 → be yours/hers/his etc alone11 → not be alone in (doing) something12 → stand aloneTHESAURUS – Meaning 4: without any help from other peopleon your own/by yourself without help from anyone elseI can’t move the bed on my own.See if you can work out the answer by yourself. | all on your own/all by yourself (=used when you feel impressed or feel sympathy for someone)Did you paint this picture all on your own?It’s not fair that she does everything all by herself.alone without any help from anyone else. Alone is more formal and less common than on your own or by yourselfPolice believe the killer acted alone.independently without asking for help or advice from anyoneStudents are taught to work independently.One day she will have to live independently without the support of her family.unaided without the help of anyone or anything – used especially about people who are very weak, ill etcHe is unable to breathe unaided.After treatment, he was able to go up and down stairs unaided.single-handedly doing something difficult or impressive without help from anyone elseShe single-handedly reformed the entire system. solo by one person, not a groupLindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic OceanShe is planning to release a solo album.He sang and played the song solo.lone adjective [only before noun] doing something alone – used especially in the following phrases: a lone gunmanPolice say the attack was carried out by a lone gunman.The government should do more to help lone parents (=who raise a child alone).self-made adjective someone who has become very rich or successful without help from anyone else: a self-made man/millionaire/businessman etcLike most self-made men, he was extremely self-confident.
Examples from the Corpus
alone• Dorothy lives alone.• Stevenson alone is to blame.• Kim traveled alone through Europe.• It's an expensive place - lunch alone was $20.• The price alone was enough to make me change my mind.• He felt terribly alone when June left.alone together• Then father and son were alone together.• We want to enjoy our time alone together.• And on most of the occasions when they had been alone together he hadn't let a chance slip by.• We spent many hours alone together in that cottage.• Suddenly they found themselves alone together in the room.• The two men were alone together indoors and I was on the terrace.• But we are alone together now, much of the time.• They had not been alone together since Durkin had gone to Belfast six months ago.• When we were alone together, we were rather shy with each other, tacitly agreeing to abandon the stand-up routine.all alone• Charles couldn't leave Dad to face it all alone.• I am so happy to see you, for here I pass my days all alone.• There is no greater threat in life than that we will be deserted, left all alone.• Paul, all alone, a forty-minute ride.• Ralph is now all alone against Jack's hunters, who tower above upon Castle Rock.• Nothing else in existence whatsoever, but there, all alone and larger than life, a huge carrot.• There in the dark, little Peter all alone, and the words made noise in his head and kept him company.• She had borne it all alone, not knowing it wasn't true.felt so alone• He had never felt so alone.• I know it sounds like Hollywood, but I've never felt so alone.• The station was practically empty of people and Emily felt so alone as she stepped on to the train.• Driving away into the city streets, she'd never felt so alone or so friendless in her entire life.• She felt so alone, so very frightened of the future and all the challenges it held.Origin alone (1200-1300) all one “wholly one” 