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sin·gle (sĭnggəl)
Share:
adj.
1. Not accompanied by another or others; solitary.
2.
a. Consisting of one part, aspect, or section: a single thickness; a single serving.
b. Having the same application for all; uniform: a single moral code for all.
c. Consisting of one in number: She had but a single thought, which was to escape.
3. Not divided; unbroken: a single slab of ice.
4.
a. Separate from others; individual and distinct: Every single child will receive a gift.
b. Having individual opponents; involving two individuals only: single combat.
5.
a. Honest; undisguised: a single adoration.
b. Wholly attentive: You must judge the contest with a single eye.
6. Designed to accommodate one person or thing: a single bed.
7.
a. Not married or involved in a romantic relationship: Once he knew she was single, he asked her to go out.
b. Relating to a state of being unmarried or uninvolved in a romantic relationship: enjoys the single life.
8. Botany Having only one rank or row of petals: a single flower.
n.
1. One that is separate and individual.
2. Something capable of carrying, moving, or holding one person or thing at a time, as a bed or a hotel room.
3.
a. A person who is not married or involved in a romantic relationship.
b. singles Such persons considered as a group: a bar for singles.
4. A one-dollar bill.
5.
a. A phonograph record, especially a forty-five, having one song on each side.
b. A song on one of these sides.
c. A song, often from a full-length album or compact disc, that is released for airplay.
6. Baseball A hit enabling the batter to reach first base. Also called one-bagger, one-base hit.
7. Sports
a. A hit for one run in cricket.
b. A golf match between two players.
c. often singles A tennis or badminton match between two players.
d. singles A competition in which individuals compete against each other, as in rowing or figure skating.
v. sin·gled, sin·gling, sin·gles
v.tr.
Baseball
a. To cause (a base runner) to score or advance by hitting a single: singled him to second.
b. To cause the scoring of (a run) by hitting a single.
v.intr.
Baseball
To hit a single.
Phrasal Verb:
single out
To choose or distinguish from others: We singled her out from the list of applicants.

[Middle English sengle, from Old French, from Latin singulus; see sem-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

single·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.