Learn English – What does the word “only to” mean in this sentence

meaningmeaning-in-context

The Taklimakan Desert, second in size only to africa’s Sahara Desert, occupies some 337,000 square kilometers.

Does this mean Sahara is the first and Taklimakan is the next in size? cause it is not!

What does only to mean in this sentence?

Best Answer

You're absolutely correct. That's exactly what it means: in terms of size, the Taklimakan Desert is second to Africa's Sahara Desert and no other desert on this planet. The adverb only is used to convey the idea that the Taklimakan Desert is second in size exclusively to the Sahara Desert - which means that the Sahara is the largest desert on the planet, while the Taklimakan Desert is the second largest. Only in this sentence is really used just for emphasis. Semantically, it does not carry a lot of weight:

The Taklimakan Desert, second in size exclusively to Africa's Sahara Desert, occupies some 337,000 square kilometers.

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