unique

«unique» in Mova's school dictionary: being the only one of its kind, unlike anything else:… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (unique; usually not «more unique»)

meaning for a pupil

1) Unique means being the only one of its kind, unlike anything else: every snowflake is unique. tree →

2) Unique to something means found only there: koalas are unique to Australia. tree →

3) (informal) Unique is often used to mean very special or unusual. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons fingerprints, DNA and snowflakes are unique, which is why fingerprints can identify a person. In maths «a unique answer» means there is only one correct answer, and a unique value is one that appears only once. In PSHE lessons «everyone is unique» means each person is special and different. Phrases: unique to, truly unique, a unique chance, unique answer.

examples

• Every person's fingerprints are unique. tree →
• Kangaroos are unique to Australia. tree →
• This puzzle has a unique solution. tree →
• Our school has a unique garden on the roof. tree →
• Everyone is unique, so we should not all be the same. tree →
• It was a unique chance to meet a real astronaut. tree →
• Each password should be unique so a hacker cannot guess them all. tree →
• The museum has a unique fossil found nowhere else. tree →
• Such a record is unique in the history of oral tradition, outside Ireland, where, however, it is quite a customary experience in the study of the Finn-saga. tree →

note

Pronounced «yoo-NEEK». Use «a unique» (not «an»), because it starts with a «you» sound. Strictly, unique means «only one», so careful writers avoid «very unique» or «more unique»; say «very unusual» instead. In maths: «unique» = exactly one; if a problem says the answer is unique, there is only one number that works.

In the corpora

• Toad describes his house like an estate agent's advert: «an eligible self-contained gentleman's residence very unique ...
• An only child is fille unique (a girl) or fils unique (a boy); enfant unique works for anyone.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «unique» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.