individual: Meaning and Definition of

in•di•vid•u•al

Pronunciation: (in"du-vij'-ul), [key]
— n.
  1. a single human being, as distinguished from a group.
  2. a person: a strange individual.
  3. a distinct, indivisible entity; a single thing, being, instance, or item.
  4. a group considered as a unit.
    1. a single organism capable of independent existence.
    2. a member of a compound organism or colony.
  5. a duplicate-bridge tournament in which each player plays the same number of hands in partnership with every other player, individual scores for each player being kept for each hand.
—adj.
  1. single; particular; separate: to number individual copies of a limited edition.
  2. intended for the use of one person only: to serve individual portions of a pizza.
  3. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a particular person or thing: individual tastes.
  4. distinguished by special, singular, or markedly personal characteristics; exhibiting unique or unusual qualities: a highly individual style of painting.
  5. existing as a distinct, indivisible entity, or considered as such; discrete: individual parts of a tea set.
  6. of which each is different or of a different design from the others: a set of individual coffee cups.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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