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single

/ˈsɪŋgəl/

/ˈsɪŋgəl/

Other forms: singles; singled; singling

If something is totally alone, or consists of only one part, it's single, like a single sock in your clean laundry basket that's mysteriously lost its mate.

Maybe there's a single house on a street, or a single red rose in a bouquet. People can be single too, if they aren't attached romantically to another person: "She had a terrible boyfriend, but now she's single." Single can also mean "distinct," or separate from everything else, like when you read every single word of a book to prepare for a test at school. And if you "single someone out," you place the focus on that one person.

Definitions of single
  1. adjective
    existing alone or consisting of one entity or part or aspect or individual
    “upon the hill stood a single tower”
    “had but a single thought which was to escape”
    “a single survivor”
    “a single serving”
    “a single lens”
    “a single thickness”
    Synonyms:
    azygos, azygous
    occurring singly; not one of a pair
    one-man, one-person, one-woman
    designed for or restricted to a single person
    lone, lonesome, only, sole, solitary
    being the only one; single and isolated from others
    singular, unique
    the single one of its kind
    sui generis
    constituting a class of its own; unique
    unary
    consisting of or involving a single element or component
    one-member, uninominal
    based on the system of having only one member from each district (as of a legislature)
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    multiple
    having or involving or consisting of more than one part or entity or individual
    aggregate
    composed of a dense cluster of separate units such as carpels or florets or drupelets
    bigeminal
    occurring in pairs
    binary
    consisting of two (units or components or elements or terms)
    double, doubled, two-fold, twofold
    twice as great or many
    double, dual, duple
    consisting of or involving two parts or components usually in pairs
    double, dual, three-fold, threefold, treble, two-fold, twofold
    having more than one decidedly dissimilar aspects or qualities
    duplex
    (used technically of a device or process) having two parts
    manifold, multiplex
    many and varied; having many features or forms
    ternary, treble, triple, triplex
    having three units or components or elements
    three-fold, threefold, treble, triple
    three times as great or many
    triune
    being three in one; used especially of the Christian Trinity
    four-fold, fourfold, quadruple
    four times as great or many
    four-fold, fourfold, quadruple, quadruplex, quadruplicate
    having four units or components
    quaternary, quaternate
    consisting of or especially arranged in sets of four
    five-fold, fivefold, quintuple
    having five units or components
    sextuple, six-fold, sixfold
    having six units or components
    septuple, seven-fold, sevenfold
    having seven units or components
    eight-fold, eightfold, octuple
    having eight units or components
    nine-fold, ninefold, nonuple
    having nine units or components
    denary, ten-fold, tenfold
    containing ten or ten parts
    show more antonyms...
  2. adjective
    being or characteristic of a single thing or person
    synonyms: individual
    idiosyncratic
    peculiar to the individual
    individualist, individualistic
    marked by or expressing individuality
    man-to-man, one-on-one
    being a system of play in which an individual defensive player guards an individual offensive player
    respective, several, various
    considered individually
    singular
    being a single and separate person or thing
    separate
    independent; not united or joint
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    common
    belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
    communal
    for or by a group rather than individuals
    public
    affecting the people or community as a whole
    joint
    united or combined
    show more antonyms...
  3. adjective
    characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing
    single occupancy”
    “a single bed”
    synonyms: individual
    unshared
    not shared
  4. adjective
    having uniform application
    “a single legal code for all”
    Synonyms:
    uniform, unvarying
    always the same; showing a single form or character in all occurrences
  5. adjective
    not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object or objective
    “judging a contest with a single eye”
    “a single devotion to duty”
    synonyms: exclusive, undivided
    concentrated
    gathered together or made less diffuse
  6. adjective
    used of flowers having usually only one row or whorl of petals
    single chrysanthemums resemble daisies and may have more than one row of petals”
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    double
    used of flowers having more than the usual number of petals in crowded or overlapping arrangements
  7. adjective
    not married or related to the unmarried state
    single parenthood”
    “are you married or single?”
    synonyms: unmarried
    divorced
    of someone whose marriage has been legally dissolved
    mateless
    of someone who has no marriage partner
    unwed, unwedded
    of someone who has not been married
    widowed
    single because of death of the spouse
    unmated
    not mated sexually
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    married
    joined in matrimony
    joined, united
    of or relating to two people who are married to each other
    mated
    of or relating to a marriage partner
    ringed
    wearing a wedding ring; lawfully married
    wed, wedded
    having been taken in marriage
    show more antonyms...
  8. noun
    the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
    synonyms: 1, I, ace, one, unity
    see moresee less
    types:
    monad, monas
    a singular metaphysical entity from which material properties are said to derive
    singleton
    a single object (as distinguished from a pair)
    fellow, mate
    one of a pair
    type of:
    digit, figure
    one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration
  9. noun
    a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base
    synonyms: bingle
    see moresee less
    types:
    line single, line-drive single
    a single resulting from a line drive
    type of:
    base hit, safety
    (baseball) the successful act of striking a baseball in such a way that the batter reaches base safely
  10. verb
    hit a single
    “the batter singled to left field”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    hit
    cause to move by striking
Pronunciation
US

/ˈsɪŋgəl/

UK

/ˈsɪŋgəl/

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