Meaning & use
one and done
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Used to say that something happens only once and then finishes, with no repeat or second chance.
Grammar: Stands alone as a comment or follows be: The tryout is one and done — no second round.
Patterns
- something is one and done
- one and done for someone
The audition is one and done, so sing your best take the first time.
For most players, the tournament is one and done: lose and you go home.
We get one and done with the landlord — no second viewing.
adjectivebefore a nouninformalAmerican
Happening or lasting only once, so that no further attempt or stage is possible.
Grammar: Comes before a noun and is usually hyphenated: a one-and-done meeting.
Patterns
- a one-and-done deal
- a one-and-done appearance
The band treated the festival as a one-and-done appearance and never toured again.
She signed a one-and-done contract and moved on to another company.
It was a one-and-done season for the coach, who left after one year.
nouncountableinformalAmericansport
In American college basketball, a player who plays for one year and then leaves for the professional league.
Grammar: Countable; often used in the plural: the team relies on one-and-dones.
Patterns
- a one-and-done
- one-and-dones
The program has built its success on one-and-dones who stay for a single season.
Critics say one-and-dones hurt the college game.
He was a one-and-done before entering the professional draft.
Word forms
| plural (noun sense) | one-and-dones |
|---|
Common combinations
- a one-and-done deal
- They agreed on a one-and-done deal and shook hands.
- one and done for someone
- After the injury, it was one and done for her career in the league.
- treat something as one and done
- Don't treat the checkup as one and done; book another for next year.
- a one-and-done appearance
- The singer made a one-and-done appearance at the small club.
- go one and done
- Many top prospects go one and done before turning professional.
Synonyms and how they differ
- one-off
- British and more neutral; one-off describes a single event that is not repeated, but it does not carry the 'no second chance' idea.
- single-use
- Used mainly for products meant to be thrown away after one use, not for events or chances.
Opposites
Word family
- one-time adjective
- Happening or existing only once, or former: a one-time fee.
Commonly confused: one and done or once and for all? one and done or done and dusted?
one and done vs once and for all
Means 'finally and completely', ending doubt or argument, while one and done simply means a single occurrence with nothing after it.
one and done vs done and dusted
British informal for 'completely finished and settled'; it stresses completion, not that there is only one chance.
Practice
The coach warned the players that the playoff would be one and done, which means:
Choose one answer.
'One and done' means a single occurrence with no repeat, so a single game ends the run. Option 1 describes a series, and option 3 describes a second chance, both the opposite of the phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “one and done”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.