solitaire UK /ˈsɒl.ɪˌtɛə(ɹ)/US /ˈsɑ.ləˌtɚ/noun 8adjective 1forms 3 noun8 •A game for one person, played on a board with pegs or balls, in which the object is, beginning with all the places filled except one, to remove all but one of the pieces by "jumping", as in draughts.The early French solitaire boards were marked with thirty-seven holes instead of the modern board's thirty-three; and the problems were more difficult. — 1979 •(US, Canada) Any of various card games that can be played by one person. •A single gem, usually a diamond, mounted in a piece of jewellery by itself.The Times reported ‘two pendant earrings formed of diamond solitaires of great splendor, supporting pear-shaped pearls of proportionate value, capped with brilliants.[…]’ — 2006 •A person who lives alone; a recluse or hermit. •Ellipsis of Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria), an extinct bird related to the dodo. •Ellipsis of Réunion solitaire (Raphus solitarius, now Threskiornis solitarius), an extinct bird formerly believed to be related to the dodo. •One of several American species of bird in the genus Myadestes in the thrush family. •(no longer used) A black neck ribbon worn with a bag wig in the 18th century.The fellow wears a solitaire, uses paint, and takes rappee with all the grimace of a French marquis. — 1771 adjective1 •Living or being alone; solitary. formssolitaires · more solitaire · most solitaire
