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Glite Dictionary
➡️ A single-direction road 🤝 No return benefit
one-way street

one-way street

3 5.4
A situation where only one person gives and the other only takes
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : relación unilateral
  • You grew up in a world of one way streets and had no idea that any relationship could be reciprocal and balanced.

But you know, Grayscale used to be a big buyer of Bitcoin and now they're a seller and it was a one way street, right?

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Examples

  • In a successful relationship, both partners contribute equally; otherwise, it feels like a one-way street.

  • Some folks think that loyalty is a one-way street in the world of consumer goods.

    Blog text (33)

  • I think a lot of people think this kind of stuff is a one-way street.

    Blog text (11)

  • We can't play along with the game of "political correctness" because that is a one-way street.

    Blog text (11)

  • Sometimes it's a one-way street; sometimes I feel all the good that's coming into me, but can't think about what's leaving.

    Blog text (33)

  • Many people believe that friendship should not be a one-way street, where only one person gives while the other takes.

  • His attempts to build rapport felt futile, as it turned out to be a one-way street with no mutual interest.

Antonyms

reciprocality
  • Formal
9.1

Mutual giving and receiving between people or groups

How Reciprocal

reciprocality
  • Formal
9.1
one-way street
  • Informal
3 5.4
exploitation
79 5.9

Surface Forms

one-way street singular
one-way streets plural

Morphology

one-way + street

The phrase combines 'one-way' (single direction) with 'street' (a path/route), so the metaphor that a relationship or situation only goes in one direction is directly inferable from the parts. This spatial-to-social mapping is common and follows regular compositional patterns cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings would typically understand the intended sense.

Etymology

One-way street is also used as a picture: a road where traffic moves only one way, so only one side does the work or gets the benefit. That's why it means 'a situation or relationship where only one person or side acts or benefits'.