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One by one   /wən baɪ wən/   Listen
noun
One  n.  
1.
A single unit; as, one is the base of all numbers.
2.
A symbol representing a unit, as 1, or i.
3.
A single person or thing. "The shining ones." "Hence, with your little ones." "He will hate the one, and love the other." "That we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory."
After one, after one fashion; alike. (Obs.)
At one, in agreement or concord. See At one, in the Vocab.
Ever in one, continually; perpetually; always. (Obs.)
In one, in union; in a single whole.
One and one, One by one, singly; one at a time; one after another. "Raising one by one the suppliant crew."
one on one contesting an opponent individually; in a contest.
go one on one, to contest one opponent by oneself; in a game, esp. basketball.


preposition
By  prep.  
1.
In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me. "By foundation or by shady rivulet He sought them both."
2.
On; along; in traversing. Compare 5. "Long labors both by sea and land he bore." "By land, by water, they renew the charge."
3.
Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.
4.
Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.
5.
Against. (Obs.)
6.
With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force. Note: To the meaning of by, as denoting means or agency, belong, more or less closely, most of the following uses of the word:
(a)
It points out the author and producer; as, "Waverley", a novel by Sir W.Scott; a statue by Canova; a sonata by Beethoven.
(b)
In an oath or adjuration, it indicates the being or thing appealed to as sanction; as, I affirm to you by all that is sacred; he swears by his faith as a Christian; no, by Heaven.
(c)
According to; by direction, authority, or example of; after; in such phrases as, it appears by his account; ten o'clock by my watch; to live by rule; a model to build by.
(d)
At the rate of; according to the ratio or proportion of; in the measure or quantity of; as, to sell cloth by the yard, milk by the quart, eggs by the dozen, meat by the pound; to board by the year.
(e)
In comparison, it denotes the measure of excess or deficiency; when anything is increased or diminished, it indicates the measure of increase or diminution; as, larger by a half; older by five years; to lessen by a third.
(f)
It expresses continuance or duration; during the course of; within the period of; as, by day, by night.
(g)
As soon as; not later than; near or at; used in expressions of time; as, by this time the sun had risen; he will be here by two o'clock. Note: In boxing the compass, by indicates a pint nearer to, or towards, the next cardinal point; as, north by east, i.e., a point towards the east from the north; northeast by east, i.e., on point nearer the east than northeast is. Note: With is used instead of by before the instrument with which anything is done; as, to beat one with a stick; the board was fastened by the carpenter with nails. But there are many words which may be regarded as means or processes, or, figuratively, as instruments; and whether with or by shall be used with them is a matter of arbitrary, and often, of unsettled usage; as, to a reduce a town by famine; to consume stubble with fire; he gained his purpose by flattery; he entertained them with a story; he distressed us with or by a recital of his sufferings. see With.
By all means, most assuredly; without fail; certainly.
By and by.
(a)
Close together (of place). (Obs.) "Two yonge knightes liggyng (lying) by and by."
(b)
Immediately; at once. (Obs.) "When... persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."
(c)
Presently; pretty soon; before long. Note: In this phrase, by seems to be used in the sense of nearness in time, and to be repeated for the sake of emphasis, and thus to be equivalent to "soon, and soon," that is instantly; hence, less emphatically, pretty soon, presently.
By one's self, with only one's self near; alone; solitary.-
By the bye. See under Bye.
By the head (Naut.), having the bows lower than the stern; said of a vessel when her head is lower in the water than her stern. If her stern is lower, she is by the stern.
By the lee, the situation of a vessel, going free, when she has fallen off so much as to bring the wind round her stern, and to take her sails aback on the other side.
By the run, to let go by the run, to let go altogether, instead of slacking off.
By the way, by the bye; used to introduce an incidental or secondary remark or subject. -
Day by day, One by one, Piece by piece, etc., each day, each one, each piece, etc., by itself singly or separately; each severally.
To come by, to get possession of; to obtain.
To do by, to treat, to behave toward.
To set by, to value, to esteem.
To stand by, to aid, to support. Note: The common phrase good-by is equivalent to farewell, and would be better written good-bye, as it is a corruption of God be with you (b'w'ye).





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"One by one" Quotes from Famous Books



... we have heard it in similar circumstances), the tone of the deafening cheers that greeted the brave man when he re-appeared on the ladders, and, (with the aid of a policeman named John Pead), bore the whole family, one by one, in safety to the ground! For this deed Conductor Douglas received the silver medal of the Society, and Pead, the policeman, received a written testimonial and a sovereign. Subsequently, in consequence of Conductor Douglas's serious illness,— resulting from his efforts ...
— Personal Reminiscences in Book Making - and Some Short Stories • R.M. Ballantyne
... slain, while by the wild pibroch of the 42d, swelling madly into notes of exultation and triumph, the Highlanders could scarcely be prevented from advancing hand to hand with the foe. Gradually the French slackened their fire, their great guns were one by one withdrawn from the heights, and a dropping, irregular musketry at intervals sustained the fight, which, ere sunset, ceased altogether; and thus ended "The Battle of ...
— Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon, Volume 2 (of 2) • Charles Lever
... landed. Tugging at the leather lines they drew the walrus one by one from the water to the ice. In these monstrous palpitating black bodies were tons of food and fuel. Without wasting time, they fell to their task and dressed the animals. Meanwhile sleds were brought from the tents and the masses of steaming meat and blubber were loaded. While the natives were thus ...
— The Eternal Maiden • T. Everett Harre
... then one by one the four forms appeared coming round from the other side of the boulder. For a few moments they halted, then came boldly out of the shadows into the starlight, and then a deadly rage leapt into Gerrard's heart as he recognised two of them. First the man whom Kate's father had handled so roughly ...
— Tom Gerrard - 1904 • Louis Becke
... fairness of his broad brow, . . and, coming back to his side, Theos stood watching him with a yearning and sorrowful wistfulness. Gathering up the jewels that had fallen out of his dress, he replaced them one by one,—and strove to re- arrange the tossed and tumbled garb as best he might. While he was thus occupied his hand happened to touch the tablet that hung by a silver chain from the Laureate's belt,—he glanced at it, . . it was covered with fine writing, and turning it more toward the light, he ...
— Ardath - The Story of a Dead Self • Marie Corelli


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