The difference between One-on-one and One-to-one

When used as nouns, one-on-one means a contest involving only one player on each side, especially of an activity often involving teams, whereas one-to-one means a personal relationship between two people.

When used as adjectives, one-on-one means involving direct communication between two people, whereas one-to-one means matching each member of one set with exactly one member of another set.


check bellow for the other definitions of One-on-one and One-to-one

  1. One-on-one as an adjective (chiefly, North America):

    Involving direct communication between two people.

  2. One-on-one as an adjective (sports):

    involving one attacker and one defender

  3. One-on-one as an adjective (mathematics):

    bijective or injective

  1. One-on-one as a noun:

    A contest involving only one player on each side, especially of an activity often involving teams.

    Examples:

    "Why don't we play a little one-on-one until the others show up."

    "He was willing to go one-on-one with the District Attorney himself."

  1. One-to-one as an adjective:

    Matching each member of one set with exactly one member of another set.

    Examples:

    "There is a one-to-one relationship between days with large cash shortages and his workdays."

  2. One-to-one as an adjective (chiefly, UK):

    Involving direct communication between two people.

  3. One-to-one as an adjective (mathematics, of a function):

    Injective, being an injection: having the property that no two elements of the domain are mapped to the same image.

  1. One-to-one as a noun:

    A personal relationship between two people.

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