SINGLE


Meaning of SINGLE in English

I. sin ‧ gle 1 S1 W1 /ˈsɪŋɡ ə l/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ single , singles, ↑ singleness , the singular, ↑ singularity ; adverb : ↑ singly , ↑ singularly ; adjective : ↑ single , ↑ singular ]

[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin singulus ]

1 . ONE [only before noun] only one:

A single tree gave shade from the sun.

They won the game by a single point.

the highest price ever paid for a single work of art

a single-sex school (=one for only boys or girls)

2 . every single used to emphasize that you are talking about every person or thing:

Don’t write down every single word I say.

He works every single day.

3 . not a single no people or things at all:

The plane was brought down safely and not a single passenger was killed.

We didn’t get a single reply to the advertisement.

4 . the single biggest/greatest etc used to emphasize that you are talking about the one thing that is the biggest, greatest etc:

Cigarette smoking is the single most important cause of lung cancer.

Tourism is the country’s single biggest earner.

5 . NOT MARRIED not married, or not involved in a romantic relationship with anyone:

The changes in tax rates will benefit single people the most.

Is he single?

6 . single bed/room etc a bed, room etc that is meant to be used by one person only:

You have to pay extra for a single room.

⇨ ↑ double 1 (4)

7 . TICKET British English a single ticket etc is for a trip from one place to another but not back again SYN one-way ⇨ return , round-trip

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ married having a husband or wife:

How long have you been married?

|

a married couple

▪ single not married:

Chris is 45 and still single.

|

single mothers

▪ engaged having formally agreed to marry someone in the future:

Jane and Pete have just got engaged.

|

engaged couples

▪ live together to share a home and have a sexual relationship, but not be married:

More and more couples are choosing to live together rather than get married.

▪ separated no longer living with your husband or wife because of problems in your marriage:

I think Joan and Brian are separated now.

▪ divorced no longer married because you have legally ended your marriage:

My parents got divorced when I was 10.

|

divorced men

▪ widowed no longer married because your husband or wife has died:

He’s a widowed father of two.

II. single 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ single , singles, ↑ singleness , the singular, ↑ singularity ; adverb : ↑ singly , ↑ singularly ; adjective : ↑ single , ↑ singular ]

1 . MUSIC a ↑ CD that has only one song on it, not a number of songs, or a song which is sold in this way ⇨ album :

Have you heard their latest single?

2 . SPORT

a) one ↑ run 2 in a game of ↑ cricket

b) a hit that allows the person who is hitting the ball to reach first ↑ base in a game of baseball

3 . TENNIS singles [uncountable] a game, especially in tennis, in which one person plays on their own against another person:

I prefer playing singles.

Who won the women’s singles?

⇨ doubles at ↑ double 2 (3)

4 . NOT MARRIED singles [plural] people who are not married and are not involved in a romantic relationship with anyone:

The show is especially popular among young singles.

a singles night at the club

5 . TICKET British English a ticket for a trip from one place to another but not back again SYN one-way ticket American English ⇨ return :

A single to Oxford, please.

6 . MONEY American English a piece of paper money worth one dollar:

Anybody have five singles?

7 . ROOM a room in a hotel for just one person ⇨ double :

I’m afraid we haven’t got any singles available.

III. single 3 BrE AmE verb

single somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb

to choose one person or thing from among a group because they are better, worse, more important etc than the others

single somebody/something ↔ out for

I don’t see why he should be singled out for special treatment.

single somebody/something ↔ out as

One programme was singled out as being particularly good.

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