From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlonelone /ləʊn $ loʊn/ adjective [only before noun] 1 ALONEused to talk about the only person or thing in a place, or the only person or thing that does something SYN solitary A lone figure was standing at the bus stop. He was by no means a lone voice criticizing the government. a lone gunman the lone survivor of a shipwreck2 → lone mother/father/parent etc3 → lone wolf
Examples from the Corpus
lone• This was the time when the lone and often despairing voice of dissent was heard from the terraces.• Out of the stillness, a lone bird began to sing.• Apparently, the murder of the lone black, Penn, was unworthy of note.• He suffered from post-traumatic stress because of a lone confrontation with eight youths two years earlier.• a lone figure in the snow• A lone gunman burst into his house and shot him dead.• For start-ups it was the lone inventor in a garage.• A lone naked bulb dangled from the ceiling.• Councilman Dexter cast the lone "no" vote.• Sheila is a lone parent with two children, aged 13 and 15.• Family graves may occasionally receive a visit by a lone person shouldering a glum aura.• It never bothered her before to be a lone voice.lone figure• Suddenly, as if on cue, a lone figure appears on a horse.• But as I ploughed through the trough in the snow, a lone figure came weaving drunkenly towards me.• At last a lone figure staggered out, singing raucously as he swaggered in a drunken stupor.Origin lone (1300-1400) alone 