single

Study(29)

UK /ˈsɪŋɡl̩/ US /ˈsɪŋɡəl/

adj 5noun 5verb 5name 1

Collocations

(noun.) ticket

VERB + SINGLE

buy, get

I need to buy a single ticket for the train to London tomorrow morning.

PREP

~ to

I need a return ticket to London, but she only bought a single to Manchester.

(noun.) CD, tape, etc.

ADJ

best-selling, hit | debut, first | forthcoming | latest, new

VERB + SINGLE

play

He loves to play singles on his guitar whenever he has free time.

release (sth as)

The record label decided to release her new song as a single before the full album came out.

SINGLE + VERB

come out

SINGLE + NOUN

chart

Her latest song reached the top of the singles chart last month.

PHRASES

~ by

Her latest single by the indie band topped the charts for three weeks.

~ from

My favorite artist released an exciting new single from her upcoming album last month.

(noun.) singles: in tennis

ADJ

junior, men's, women's

VERB + SINGLE

play

She decided to play a single match against her rival instead of competing in the tournament.

win

He won the tennis single in straight sets against his rival.

SINGLE + NOUN

championship, final, match | champion, player | title

PHRASES

in the ~

My brother won three matches in the singles competition at the tennis tournament last month.

Definitions

adj

Not accompanied by anything else; one in number.

Can you give me a single reason not to leave right now?

The vase contained a single long-stemmed rose.

Not divided in parts.

The potatoes left the spoon and landed in a single big lump on the plate.

Designed for the use of only one.

a single room

Performed by one person, or one on each side.

a single combat

These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, […] / Who now defies thee thrice to single fight.

Not married, and (in modern times) not dating or without a significant other.

Forms often ask if a person is single, married, divorced, or widowed. In this context, a person who is dating someone but who has never married puts "single".

Josh put down that he was a single male on the dating website.

noun

A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.

A popular song released and sold (on any format) nominally on its own though usually having at least one extra track.

The Offspring released four singles from their most recent album.

One who is not married or does not have a romantic partner.

He went to the party, hoping to meet some friendly singles there.

A score of one run.

He refused to take a single as the ball was dropped by his opponent's best fielder.

A hit in baseball where the batter advances to first base.

verb

To get a hit that advances the batter exactly one base.

Pedro singled in the bottom of the eighth inning, which, if converted to a run, would put the team back into contention.

To thin out.

Paul went joyfully, and spent the afternoon helping to hoe or to single turnips with his friend.

The seeds did not germinate in many parts of a row until rains in end of June and thunderplumps in first week of July brought them up later in patches, so that no second sowing was necessary, but singling was done by stages.

To take the irregular gait called singlefoot.

Many very fleet horses, when overdriven, adopt a disagreeable gait, which seems to be a cross between a pace and a trot, in which the two legs of one side are raised almost but not quite, simultaneously. Such horses are said to single, or to be single-footed.

To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.

an agent singling itself from consorts

To take alone, or one by one; to single out.

men […] commendable when they are singled

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base

bingle

noun — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this num

adjective — being or characteristic of a single thing or person

individual

adjective — not married or related to the unmarried state

unmarried

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

single out

To select (someone or something) from a group and highlight them or treat them differently.

Eddie singled out his favorite marble from the bag.

better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness

Even in the face of hopelessness and discontent, it is more worthwhile to do some good, however small, in response, than to complain about the situation.

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point.

It has often been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We have made many steps in our journey towards the republic, and perhaps are closer to our dest

I'm single

Indicates that the speaker does not have a spouse or romantic partner.

are you single

Used to ask whether the interlocutor does or doesn't have a (romantic) partner.

Example Bank

Can you give me a single reason not to leave right now?

Wiktionary

The vase contained a single long-stemmed rose.

Wiktionary

The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spa

Wiktionary

The Offspring released four singles from their most recent album.

Wiktionary

He went to the party, hoping to meet some friendly singles there.

Wiktionary

He refused to take a single as the ball was dropped by his opponent's best fielder.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, single is marked as archaic. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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