Definify.com

Definition 2025

by_itself

by oneself

English

Prepositional phrase

Alone; without assistance or help from others.

I have always wondered why shoe salesmen think I can't tie my shoes by myself.

You ate the whole thing by yourself?
Alone, without another's company
He sat by himself in the corner, waiting quietly.
(rare) Used other than as an idiom: see by,‎ oneself.
He kept the gun by himself at all times.

Synonyms

(alone): on one's own

Translations

without help

Chinese:
Mandarin: 自己 (zh) ‎(zìjǐ)
Chuukese: pwisin
Faroese: sjálvur
Finnish: itse (fi), yksin (fi)
French: tout seul (fr)
German: selbst (de), selbstständig (de)
Hindi: अकेले (hi) ‎(akele), अपने आप ‎(apne āp)
Icelandic: sjálfur (is) m

Irish: i d'aonar
Italian: da solo, da soli pl, m
Japanese: 自分で (ja) ‎(じぶんで, jibun de)
Portuguese: sozinho (pt) m
Spanish: solo, por si mismo
Russian: самостоя́тельно (ru) ‎(samostojátelʹno), сам (ru) ‎(sam) (adjective, with genders and numbers)
Swedish: själv (sv) c, på egen hand (sv)
Vietnamese: lấy (vi)

without company

Chinese:

Cantonese: 一個人, 一个人 ‎(jat¹ go³ jan⁴; jat¹ go³ jan⁴⁻²; jat¹ go³ jan⁴⁻¹)

Mandarin: 一個人 (zh), 一个人 (zh) ‎(yīgèrén)
Faroese: einsamallur
Finnish: yksin (fi), yksinään (fi)
French: solo (fr), seul (fr)
German: alleine (de)
Greek: μόνος (el) ‎(mónos)

Hebrew: בְּגַפּוֹ (he) m ‎(begapó)
Icelandic: aleinn (is) m, einn (is) m
Irish: leat féin
Japanese: 一人で (ja) ‎(ひとりで, hitori de)
Portuguese: sozinho (pt), só (pt), por si só
Russian: оди́н (ru) ‎(odín) (adjective, with genders and numbers), в одино́чку (ru) ‎(v odinóčku)
Spanish: solo, a solas
Swedish: ensam (sv), för sig själv
Vietnamese: một mình (vi)