Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - alone

~1 S1 W1 adj 1 without any other people  (She lives alone.) ~ together (=if two people are alone together there is no one else in the place where they are)  (Suddenly they found themselves alone together in the room.) 2 without any friends or people who you know all ~ (=completely alone)  (It was scary being all alone in a strange city.) 3 feeling very unhappy and lonely  (He felt terribly alone when June left.) 4 you ~ know/have/can do sth used to say that you are the only person who knows or can do something  (Julie alone knew the terrible truth. | Of all the applicants, she alone had the right qualifications.) 5 used to emphasize that one particular thing is very important or has a great effect in a situation  (The price alone was enough to put me off the idea.) 6 be ~ in (doing) sth be the only person to do something  (You're not alone in feeling upset by all this, believe me.)  ( USAGE NOTE: ALONE WORD CHOICE ~, on your own, by yourself, lonely, lonesome, lone, solitary If you are ~, or less formally, on your own/by yourself that just means that no one else is with you, and is neither good nor bad I just wanted to stay at home alone/by myself. With verbs of action, on your own and by yourself often suggest that no one is helping you I want to swim alone (=with no one else there).| I want to swim on my own/by myself (=either with nobody else there or with other people there but not helping). If you are lonely or lonesome (AmE) you are unhappy because you are ~: I feel lonely living away from home/a lonely old man. Places etc can be lonely or lonesome if they make people feel lonely: a lonesome little town on the prairie. Things that you do can also be lonely: a lonely journey/job/life etc. Lonely is never an adverb but ~ often is: She travelled alone (NOT lonely). A lone or solitary person or thing is simply the only one in a place, and therefore might seem a little lonely: a lone figure in the middle of the square (=it is the only one there). In spoken English, you are more likely to talk about: a figure on its own in the middle of the square. Sometimes solitary can suggest that you choose to be ~: She is a very solitary person. ) ~2 adv 1 if you do something difficult ~ you do it on your own  (Brian was left to put up the tent alone.) 2 go it ~ to start working or living on your own, especially after working or living with other people  (After years of working for a big company I decided to go it alone.) 3 leave/let sb ~ to stop annoying or interrupting someone  (Go away and leave me alone will you.) 4 leave/let sth ~ to stop touching an object or changing something  (Leave that vase alone or you'll break it!) 5 stand ~ if an object or building stands alone it is not near other buildings or objects  (The house stood alone at the end of the road.)