on one's lonesome

prepositional phrase

Alone; without aid or accompaniment.

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Meanings

prepositional phrase

alternative by one's lonesome

  1. idiomaticAlone; without aid or accompaniment.

    Working on his lonesome every day definitely had him craving a bit of human company.

    2015, Josephine Myles, chapter 10, in Scrap, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    "Sittin' there all on her lonesome the whole day long, it's understandable she gets down in the dumps."

    1996, Joan Jonker, Sweet Rosie O'Grady (2012 Headline ebook edition), Google books online

    But his skills with a bike were unassailable — while the factory teams were struggling with setup, it was Dunlop on his lonesome that gave the company its first International victories.

    2003, Aaron P. Frank, Honda Motorcycles, →ISBN, page 176

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
alonesingle-handedlysolitarily
Cite this entry
APA

on one's lonesome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20one's%20lonesome

MLA

“on one's lonesome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20one's%20lonesome. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on one's lonesome,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20one's%20lonesome.

Source: on one's lonesome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.