Single

/ˈsɪŋɡl̩/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.
  • Grammar: single is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: unmarried, 1, a, a certain.
  • Useful contrasts: album track, bi, bigeminal.
  • Usage evidence: I cannot dance one single step of Salsa.

How to use "single"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "single" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "single" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "single" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "single" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "single" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "unmarried" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "single", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.
  2. 2
    a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base wordnet
  3. 3
    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."

  4. 4
    the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number wordnet
  5. 5
    One who is not married or does not have a romantic partner.

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

Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    A score of one run.

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

  2. 7
    A hit in baseball where the batter advances to first base.
  3. 8
    A tile that has a different value (i.e. number of pips) at each end.
  4. 9
    A bill valued at $1. US, informal

    "I don't have any singles, so you'll have to make change."

  5. 10
    A one-way ticket. UK

    "‘I want to know, Mr Stone, if, in the course of the day, you have issued any tickets to a person dressed in Arab costume?’ His reply was prompt. ‘I have — by the last train, the 7.25, — three singles.’"

  6. 11
    A score of one point, awarded when a kicked ball is dead within the non-kicking team's end zone or has exited that end zone. Canadian
  7. 12
    A game with one player on each side, as in tennis. in-plural

    "After tea, Mrs. Inglethorp went to lie down to rest before her efforts in the evening and I challenged Mary Cavendish to a single at tennis."

  8. 13
    One of the reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
  9. 14
    A handful of gleaned grain. Scotland, UK, dialectal
  10. 15
    A floating-point number having half the precision of a double-precision value.

    "If you want to be a scientist or an engineer, learn to say “no” to singles and floats."

  11. 16
    A shot of only one character.

    "But if the same scene is shot in singles (or “over-the-shoulder” shots where one of the actors is only a lumpy shoulder in the foreground), the editor and the director can almost redirect the scene on film."

  12. 17
    A single cigarette.
  13. 18
    Synonym of single-driver. obsolete

    "A few such examples have been preserved, as is well known, such as one of the Stirling 8-ft. singles of the late Great Northern Railway, the Great Western 4-4-0 City of Truro, ex-Caledonian single-driver No. 123, the Brighton 0-4-2 Gladstone, and others."

Verb
  1. 1
    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."

  2. 2
    hit a single wordnet
  3. 3
    To thin out.

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

  4. 4
    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."

  5. 5
    To sequester; to withdraw; to retire. archaic, intransitive

    "an agent singling itself from consorts"

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    To take alone, or one by one; to single out. archaic, intransitive

    "men […] commendable when they are singled"

  2. 7
    To reduce (a railway) to single track. transitive

    "In the east of Yorkshire, Mr. A. M. Ross reports the belief of local railwaymen that the N.E.R. plans to single the York-Beverley line, leaving an adequate provision of passing loops, and to operate it by C.T.C. from York; […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not accompanied by anything else; one in number. not-comparable

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

  2. 2
    Not divided in parts. not-comparable

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

  3. 3
    Designed for the use of only one. not-comparable

    "a single room"

  4. 4
    Performed by one person, or one on each side. not-comparable

    "a single combat"

  5. 5
    Not married, and (in modern times) not dating or without a significant other. not-comparable

    "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"."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Having only one rank or row of petals. not-comparable
  2. 7
    Simple and honest; sincere, without deceit. not-comparable, obsolete

    "Therefore, when thyne eye is single: then is all thy boddy full off light. Butt if thyne eye be evyll: then shall all thy body be full of darknes?"

  3. 8
    Uncompounded; pure; unmixed. not-comparable

    "simple ideas are opposed to complex , and single ideas to compound."

  4. 9
    Simple; foolish; weak; silly. not-comparable, obsolete

    "He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice."

Adjective
  1. 1
    being or characteristic of a single thing or person wordnet
  2. 2
    not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object or objective wordnet
  3. 3
    not married or related to the unmarried state wordnet
  4. 4
    having uniform application wordnet
  5. 5
    characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    existing alone or consisting of one entity or part or aspect or individual wordnet
  2. 7
    used of flowers having usually only one row or whorl of petals wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Old English.

Synonyms

All synonyms
unmarried1aa certaina halta pond

Antonyms

album trackbibigeminalbinary

Example

"I cannot dance one single step of Salsa."

Common questions

What does "single" mean?

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

What is a synonym for "single"?

Common synonyms include: unmarried, 1, a, a certain, a halt, a pond.

How do you use "single" in a sentence?

I cannot dance one single step of Salsa.

How do you pronounce "single"?

Pronounced /ˈsɪŋɡl̩/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

Etymology 2

From Old English sengel (“brushwood; burnt clearing”), a topographic surname for someone who lived by a brushwood.

More for "single"

Synonyms

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