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Definition of single adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

single

adjective
 OPAL WOPAL S
 
/ˈsɪŋɡl/
 
/ˈsɪŋɡl/
Idioms
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    one

  1.  
     [only before noun] only one
    • He sent her a single red rose.
    • a single-sex school (= for boys only or for girls only)
    • All these jobs can now be done by one single machine.
    • We won by a single point.
    • They cloned a lamb from a single cell taken from an adult sheep.
    • the European single currency, the euro
    • (British English) a single honours degree (= for which you study only one subject)
    • It was the work of a single individual.
    • The statue was carved out of a single piece of wood.
    • You can switch between the single-player and the multiplayer games.
    2.

    for one person

  2.  
     [only before noun] intended to be used by only one person
    • a single room
    • The jail housed 860 prisoners in single cells.
    • a single sheet (= large enough for a single bed)
    compare double see also single bed

    3. not married

  3.  
     (of a person) not married or having a romantic relationship with somebody
    • a single person/woman/man
    • The apartments are ideal for single people living alone.
    • Are you still single?
    • She remained single till her death.
    • Young people are staying single for longer.
    • The film stars Bening as a single mother with a teenage son.
    • I'm a single father and take my kids to school every morning.
    see also single parent

    4. ticket

  4.  
     [only before noun] (British English)
    (also one-way North American English, British English)
    a single ticket, etc. can be used for travelling to a place but not back again
    • a single ticket
    • How much is the single fare to Glasgow?
    compare return (7)Topics Transport by bus and traina2, Transport by aira2

    5. for emphasis

  5.  
     [only before noun] used to emphasize that you are referring to one particular person or thing on its own
    • Unemployment is the single most important factor in the growing crime rates.
    • We eat rice every single day.
    • Every single one of her so-called friends had turned their backs on her.
    • I couldn't understand a single word she said!
    6. Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin singulus, related to simplus ‘simple’.
Idioms
at a (single) glance
  1. immediately; with only a quick look
    • She is able to take in complex information at a single glance.
at/in a single go | at a/one go
  1. (British English) in one single attempt or try
    • She blew out the candles in a single go.
(in) single file
(also old-fashioned (in) Indian file)
  1. (in) one line, one behind the other
    • They made their way in single file along the cliff path.
See single in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee single in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: single

Nearby words

sufficiently
adverb
 
 
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OPAL written words
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