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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

each.

All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

det/iːt͡ʃ/UK/ɪjt͡ʃ/British, Southern, Standard/it͡ʃ/US
  1. All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).

    Make sure you wash each bowl well.
    The sun comes up each morning and sets each night.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English eche, elche, ilch, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ. Comparable to aye + alike. Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”). By surface analysis, Old English ā + which.

adv/iːt͡ʃ/UK/ɪjt͡ʃ/British, Southern, Standard/it͡ʃ/US
  1. For one; apiece; per.

    not-comparable
    The apples cost 50 cents each.
  2. Individually; separately; used in a sentence with a plural subject to indicate that the action or state described by the verb applies to all members of the described group individually, rather than collectively to the entire group.

    not-comparable
    We ordered half a chicken each, but we each got a whole one.
    You are each right in a different way.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English eche, elche, ilch, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ. Comparable to aye + alike. Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”). By surface analysis, Old English ā + which.

pron/iːt͡ʃ/UK/ɪjt͡ʃ/British, Southern, Standard/it͡ʃ/US
  1. Every one/thing individually or one by one.

    I'm going to give each of you a chance to win.
    From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English eche, elche, ilch, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ. Comparable to aye + alike. Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”). By surface analysis, Old English ā + which.

noun/iːt͡ʃ/UK/ɪjt͡ʃ/British, Southern, Standard/it͡ʃ/US
  1. An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English eche, elche, ilch, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ. Comparable to aye + alike. Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”). By surface analysis, Old English ā + which.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.