- [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.
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- [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)
- (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.
- [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?
- [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!
one
for one person
not married
ticket
for emphasis
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin singulus, related to simplus ‘simple’.
Idioms
See single in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee single in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat a (single) glance
- 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
- (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)
- (in) one line, one behind the other
- They made their way in single file along the cliff path.
Check pronunciation:
single