DOUBLE


Meaning of DOUBLE in English

I. doub ‧ le 1 S1 W2 /ˈdʌb ə l/ BrE AmE adjective [usually before noun]

[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin duplus , from duo 'two' + -plus 'multiplied by' ]

1 . OF TWO PARTS consisting of two parts that are similar or exactly the same:

a double sink

a double wardrobe

the great double doors of the cathedral

Don’t park your car on double yellow lines.

2 . TWO DIFFERENT USES combining or involving two things of the same type:

a double murder case

A lot of the jokes were based on double meaning.

3 . TWICE AS BIG twice as big, twice as much, or twice as many as usual:

a double whisky

The city was enclosed by walls of double thickness.

4 . FOR TWO PEOPLE made for two people or things to use ⇨ single :

Do you need a double bed or two singles?

a double room

a double garage

5 . TWO LETTERS/NUMBERS British English spoken used to say that a particular letter or number is repeated:

My name’s Robbins with a double ‘b’.

The number is 869 double 2 (=86922) .

6 . FLOWER a double flower has more than the usual number of ↑ petal s

⇨ ↑ doubly

II. double 2 BrE AmE noun

1 . TWICE THE SIZE [uncountable and countable] something that is twice as big, as much etc as usual or as something else:

Scotch and water, please – make it a double.

‘They offered me £10,000.’ ‘I’ll give you double.’

2 . ROOM [countable] a room for two people in a hotel ⇨ single :

A double costs $95 a night.

3 . TENNIS doubles [uncountable] a game played between two pairs of players, especially in tennis ⇨ singles :

the men’s doubles

⇨ ↑ mixed doubles

4 . BASEBALL [countable] a hit in baseball which allows the ↑ batter to reach second ↑ base :

Walker led the inning with a double.

5 . SIMILAR PERSON sb’s double someone who looks very like someone else:

She’s her mother’s double.

6 . IN FILMS [countable] an actor who takes the place of a more famous actor in a film, especially because the acting involves doing something dangerous:

I think they used a double in the shower scene.

7 . at the double British English , on the double American English informal very quickly and without any delay:

He was told to get back to Washington on the double.

8 . double or quits British English , double or nothing American English a situation in a game when you must do something that could either win you twice as much money or make you lose it all

III. double 3 S3 BrE AmE verb

1 . [intransitive and transitive] to become twice as big or twice as much, or to make something twice as big or twice as much

double in size/number/value etc

Within two years the company had doubled in size.

The church has doubled its membership in the last five years.

double the size/number/amount etc (of something)

A promise was given to double the number of police on duty.

2 . [transitive] ( also double over/up ) to fold something in half:

Take a sheet of paper and double it over.

3 . [intransitive] to hit the ball far enough to get to second ↑ base in a game of baseball

double as somebody/something phrasal verb

to have a second use, job, or purpose as a particular thing:

The school doubled as a hospital during the war.

double back phrasal verb

to turn around and go back the way you have come:

The driver doubled back and headed for Howard Bay.

double back on yourself

We kept getting lost and having to double back on ourselves.

double up phrasal verb

1 . ( also double over ) to suddenly bend over at the waist because you are laughing so much or are in pain:

Emilio doubled over, grabbing his leg.

be doubled up/over with laughter/pain etc

Both the girls were doubled up with laughter.

2 . to share something, especially a bedroom

double up with

You’ll have to double up with Susie while your aunt is here.

IV. double 4 BrE AmE adverb

be bent double to be bent over a long way:

The trees were almost bent double in the wind.

⇨ see double at ↑ see 1 (29)

V. double 5 BrE AmE predeterminer

twice as big, twice as much, or twice as many

double the amount/number/size etc

We’ll need double this amount for eight people.

The value of the house is double what it was.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.