Each
adv, det, noun, pron ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.
"In one embodiment, there is an additional charge when ordering products as an “each” compared to the unit cost of the item when ordered by the case."
- 1 (used of count nouns) every one considered individually; quantifier, singular, universal pronoun; quantifier, singular, universal wordnet
- 1 For one; apiece; per. not-comparable
"The apples cost 50 cents each."
- 2 Individually; separately; used in a sentence with a plural subject to indicate that the action or state described by the verb applies to all members of the described group individually, rather than collectively to the entire group. not-comparable
"We ordered half a chicken each, but we each got a whole one."
- 1 to or from every one of two or more (considered individually) wordnet
- 1 All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).
"Make sure you wash each bowl well."
- 1 Every one/thing individually or one by one.
"I'm going to give each of you a chance to win."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals."
Etymology
From Middle English eche, elche, ilch, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ. Comparable to aye + alike. Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”). By surface analysis, Old English ā + which.
Related phrases
More for "each"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.