I. sole 1 W3 AC /səʊl $ soʊl/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: soul , from Latin solus 'alone' ]
1 . the sole person, thing etc is the only one SYN only :
the sole American in the room
Griffiths is the sole survivor of the crash.
The story was published with the sole purpose of selling newspapers.
2 . not shared with anyone else:
Derek has sole responsibility for sales in Dublin.
The company has the sole rights to market Elton John’s records.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ nouns
▪ sb’s sole purpose/aim
Their sole purpose was to kill.
▪ the sole reason
His sole reason for calling was to shower abuse upon me.
▪ the sole cause
I’m not saying that TV violence is the sole cause of violence in society.
▪ the sole candidate
He was the sole candidate for the post.
▪ the sole occupant
The library’s sole occupant was a thin, elderly man.
▪ the sole survivor
Jack was the sole survivor of the crew.
■ adjectives
▪ the sole surviving/remaining member/child etc
His sole surviving child, Mary, succeeded to the throne at the age of one week.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ nouns
▪ sole responsibility
She has the sole responsibility for a large family.
▪ sole rights
The company now has the sole rights to the process.
▪ sole ownership/proprietorship
He now has sole ownership of the company.
▪ sole control/charge
The school was no longer under their sole control.
II. sole 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1-2: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin solea 'light shoe' ]
[ Sense 3: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin solea 'light shoe, flat fish' ]
1 . [countable] the bottom surface of your foot, especially the part you walk or stand on:
The soles of his feet were caked in mud.
2 .
[countable] the flat bottom part of a shoe, not including the heel:
the soles of her shoes
3 . [uncountable and countable] ( plural sole or soles ) a flat fish that is often used for food ⇨ lemon sole :
Dover sole
III. sole 3 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
to put a ↑ sole on a shoe
thick-soled/leather-soled etc (=having soles that are thick, made of leather etc)