Meaning of sole in English

sole
adjective [ before noun ]
uk

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/səʊl/ us

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/soʊl/
C1
being one only; single:
My sole objective is to make the information more widely available.
The sole survivor of the accident was found in the water after six hours.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
having no others like this one
  • onlyShe's the only one who can do it.
  • oneHe's the one person you can rely on in a situation like this.
  • singleYou haven't listened to a single thing I've said!
  • lonePolice were looking for a lone gunman.
  • soleHe was the sole survivor of the plane crash.
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C1
not shared with anyone else:
She has sole responsibility for the project.
I have sole charge of both children all day.
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Numbers: single, double & multiple
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sole
noun [ C ]
uk

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/səʊl/ us

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/soʊl/

sole noun [C] (FOOT)

plural soles
the bottom part of the foot that touches the ground when you stand or walk, or the bottom part of a shoe that touches the ground, usually not including the heel:
a cut on the sole of her foot
shoes with rubber soles
 
Fabrice LEROUGE/ONOKY/GettyImages
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Shoes
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sole noun [C] (FISH)

plural sole
one of a number of flat, round fish that are eaten as food:
lemon sole
Dover sole
 
EddWestmacott/ iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages
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Sea fish
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sole
verb [ T ]
uk

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/səʊl/ us

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/soʊl/
to put a new sole on a shoe
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Shoes
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Related word

-soled
(Definition of sole from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

sole | American Dictionary

sole
adjective [ not gradable ]
us

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/soʊl/

sole adjective [not gradable] (ONLY)

being the only one; single:
She is the sole survivor of the accident.
Sole also means belonging to one person or group:
The team moved into sole possession of first place.

solely

adverb [ not gradable ] us

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/ˈsoʊl·li/
These industries aren’t solely responsible for hazardous wastes.
sole
noun
us

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/soʊl/

sole noun (BOTTOM PART OF FOOT)

[ C ]
the bottom part of a foot which touches the ground when you stand or walk, or the front part of the bottom of a shoe:
shoes with leather/rubber soles

sole noun (FISH)

[ C/U ] plural sole
a flat, round fish that is eaten as food
(Definition of sole from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

sole | Business English

sole
adjective [ before noun ]
uk

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/səʊl/ us

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being the only one:
Investment trusts are companies whose sole business is investing.
sole owner/director A company which has a sole director is required to have another person as its company secretary.
The deal makes the bank the company's sole agent in the region.
The University is North America's sole supplier of an antibiotic to treat tuberculosis.
not shared with anyone else:
UK employers are far too powerful to accept sole responsibility for employees' pensions.
(Definition of sole from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of sole

sole
My officials will shortly be discussing with all sectors of the industry the arrangements for the implementation of the catch quotas for soles and plaice.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
He soled and heeled his father's boots, and when he went home with them it was at once recognised that he was a different boy.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Let no one suppose that somewhere in this country there are large numbers of people feeding themselves every day on soles, turbot and brill.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Though the soles of the shoes may be worn out the tops are kept polished; though the clothes are threadbare they are kept clean.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
All, or nearly all, the half-soles will be kept for future use.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
I am informed that in mind are teeth, feet, and the soles of shoes.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
We ourselves are using 10,000 tons of reclaimed rubber for soles and heels in this country.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Safety shoes were needed because the caustic soda eats into normal leather soles.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Is it not a fact that men have to stay away from their work because their clogs cannot be soled properly?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Imagine the housewife going into the fishmonger to order soles.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Microcellular plastic is now in common use for the soles and heels of surgical footwear.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The soles had a curious way of departing from the uppers—a practice which is not considered right in the best boot circles.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The soles were bought in 1940 and the heels in 1949.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The minimum size for plaice was 25 centimetres, and for soles 24 centimetres.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Not only do the soles of their shoes wear out at incredible speed but, even worse, the toe caps and uppers are also ruined.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
See all examples of sole
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Translations of sole

in Chinese (Traditional)
唯一的，單一的, 專用的，獨享的, 腳…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
唯一的，单一的, 专用的，独享的, 脚…
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in Spanish
único, planta, suela…
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in Portuguese
único, planta do pé, sola…
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in more languages
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Arabic
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Italian
in Russian
唯一の, 足の裏, 靴の裏…
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tek, yegâne, biricik…
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seul/seule, unique, exclusif/-ive…
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únic, planta, sola…
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وَحيد, أخْمُص القَدَم…
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chodidlo, podrážka, mořský jazyk…
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fodsål, sål, søtunge…
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telapak kaki, sol, ikan lidah…
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หลังเท้า, พื้นรองเท้า, ปลาตัวแบน…
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lòng bàn chân, đế giày, cá bơn…
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jedyny, wyłączny, podeszwa…
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tapak kaki, tapak, ikan sisa Nabi…
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die Sohle, die Bodenfläche, die Seezunge…
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eneste, eksklusiv, fotsåle [masculine]…
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유일한, 발바닥…
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unico, pianta del piede, suola…
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единственный, полный, исключительный…
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soldier
soldier of fortune
soldier on
soldiering
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sole proprietor liability
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