Adjacent Words

Single definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SIN'GLE, a.
1. Separate; one; only; individual; consisting of one only; as a single star; a single city; a single act.
2. Particular; individual. No single man is born with a right of controlling the opinions of all the rest.
3. Uncompounded. Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to compound.
4. Alone; having no companion or assistant. Who single hast maintain'd against revolted multitudes the cause of truth.
5. Unmarried; as a single man; a single woman.
6. Not double; not complicated; as a single thread; a single strand of a rope.
7. Performed with one person or antagonist on a side, or with one person only opposed to another; as a single fight; a single combat.
8. Pure; simple; incorrupt; unbiased; having clear vision of divine truth. Matthew 6.
9. Small; weak; silly
10. In botany, a single flower is when there is only one on a stem, and in common usage, one not double.
SIN'GLE, v.t.
1. To select, as an individual person or thing from among a number; to choose one from others. --A dog who can single out his master in the dark.
2. To sequester; to withdraw; to retire; as an agent singling itself from comforts.
3. To take alone; as men commendable when singled from society.
4. To separate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being or characteristic of a single thing or person; "individual drops of rain"; "please mark the individual pages"; "they went their individual ways" [syn: individual, single] [ant: common]
2: used of flowers having usually only one row or whorl of petals; "single chrysanthemums resemble daisies and may have more than one row of petals" [ant: double]
3: existing alone or consisting of one entity or part or aspect or individual; "upon the hill stood a single tower"; "had but a single thought which was to escape"; "a single survivor"; "a single serving"; "a single lens"; "a single thickness" [ant: multiple]
4: not married or related to the unmarried state; "unmarried men and women"; "unmarried life"; "sex and the single girl"; "single parenthood"; "are you married or single?" [syn: unmarried, single] [ant: married]
5: characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing; "an individual serving"; "single occupancy"; "a single bed" [syn: individual, single]
6: having uniform application; "a single legal code for all"
7: not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object or objective; "judging a contest with a single eye"; "a single devotion to duty"; "undivided affection"; "gained their exclusive attention" [syn: single, undivided, exclusive] n
1: a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base [syn: single, bingle]
2: the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number; "he has the one but will need a two and three to go with it"; "they had lunch at one" [syn: one, 1, I, ace, single, unity] v
1: hit a single; "the batter singled to left field"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English sengle, from Anglo-French, from Latin singulus one only; akin to Latin sem- one — more at same Date: 14th century 1. a. not married b. of or relating to celibacy 2. unaccompanied by others ; lone, sole <the single survivor of the disaster> 3. a. (1) consisting of or having only one part, feature, or portion <single consonants> (2) consisting of one as opposed to or in contrast with many ; uniform <a single standard for men and women> (3) consisting of only one in number <holds to a single ideal> b. having but one whorl of petals or ray flowers <a single rose> 4. a. consisting of a separate unique whole ; individual <every single citizen> b. of, relating to, or involving only one person 5. a. frank, honest <a single devotion> b. exclusively attentive <an eye single to the truth> 6. unbroken, undivided 7. having no equal or like ; singular 8. designed for the use of one person only <a single room> <a single bed> II. noun Date: 1604 1. a. a separate individual person or thing b. an unmarried person and especially one young and socially active — usually used in plural c. (1) a recording having one short tune on each side (2) a music recording having two or more tracks that is shorter than a full-length album; also a song that is particularly popular independent of other songs on the same album or by the same artist 2. a base hit that allows the batter to reach first base 3. a. plural a tennis match or similar game with one player on each side b. a golf match between two players — usually used in plural 4. a room (as in a hotel) for one guest — compare double 7 III. verb (singled; singling) Date: 1628 transitive verb 1. to select or distinguish from a number or group — usually used with out 2. a. to advance or score (a base runner) by a single b. to bring about the scoring of (a run) by a single intransitive verb to make a single in baseball

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 one only, not double or multiple. 2 united or undivided. 3 a designed or suitable for one person (single room). b used or done by one person etc. or one set or pair. 4 one by itself; not one of several (a single tree). 5 regarded separately (every single thing). 6 not married. 7 Brit. (of a ticket) valid for an outward journey only, not for the return. 8 (with neg. or interrog.) even one; not to speak of more (did not see a single person). 9 (of a flower) having only one circle of petals. 10 lonely, unaided. 11 archaic free from duplicity, sincere, consistent, guileless, ingenuous. --n. 1 a single thing, or item in a series. 2 Brit. a single ticket. 3 a short pop record with one piece of music etc. on each side. 4 Cricket a hit for one run. 5 (usu. in pl.) a game with one player on each side. 6 an unmarried person (young singles). 7 sl. US a one-dollar note. --v.tr. (foll. by out) choose as an example or as distinguishable or to serve some purpose. Phrases and idioms: single acrostic see ACROSTIC. single-acting (of an engine etc.) having pressure applied only to one side of the piston. single-breasted (of a coat etc.) having only one set of buttons and buttonholes, not overlapping. single combat a duel. single cream thin cream with a relatively low fat-content. single cut (of a file) with grooves cut in one direction only, not crossing. single-decker esp. Brit. a bus having only one deck. single entry a system of bookkeeping in which each transaction is entered in one account only. single file a line of people or things arranged one behind another. single-handed adv. 1 without help from another. 2 with one hand. --adj. 1 done etc. single-handed. 2 for one hand. single-handedly in a single-handed way. single-lens reflex denoting a reflex camera in which a single lens serves the film and the viewfinder. single-line with movement of traffic in only one direction at a time. single parent a person bringing up a child or children without a partner. singles bar a bar for single people seeking company. single-seater a vehicle with one seat. single stick 1 a basket-hilted stick of about a sword's length. 2 one-handed fencing with this. single-tree US = SWINGLETREE. Derivatives: singleness n. singly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L singulus, rel. to simplus SIMPLE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Single Sin"gle, v. i. To take the irrregular gait called single-foot;- said of a horse. See Single-foot. 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. --W. S. Clark.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Single Sin"gle, n. 1. A unit; one; as, to score a single. 2. pl. The reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness. 3. A handful of gleaned grain. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] 4. (Law Tennis) A game with but one player on each side; -- usually in the plural. 5. (Baseball) A hit by a batter which enables him to reach first base only.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Single Sin"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Singled; p. pr. & vb. n. Singling.] 1. To select, as an individual person or thing, from among a number; to choose out from others; to separate. Dogs who hereby can single out their master in the dark. --Bacon. His blood! she faintly screamed her mind Still singling one from all mankind. --More. 2. To sequester; to withdraw; to retire. [Obs.] An agent singling itself from consorts. --Hooker. 3. To take alone, or one by one. Men . . . commendable when they are singled. --Hooker.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Single Sin"gle, a. [L. singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See Simple, and cf. Singular.] 1. One only, as distinguished from more than one; consisting of one alone; individual; separate; as, a single star. No single man is born with a right of controlling the opinions of all the rest. --Pope. 2. Alone; having no companion. Who single hast maintained, Against revolted multitudes, the cause Of truth. --Milton. 3. Hence, unmarried; as, a single man or woman. Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness. --Shak. Single chose to live, and shunned to wed. --Dryden. 4. Not doubled, twisted together, or combined with others; as, a single thread; a single strand of a rope. 5. Performed by one person, or one on each side; as, a single combat. These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . . Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight. --Milton. 6. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed. Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to compound. --I. Watts. 7. Not deceitful or artful; honest; sincere. I speak it with a single heart. --Shak. 8. Simple; not wise; weak; silly. [Obs.] He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice. --Beau. & Fl. Single ale, beer, or drink, small ale, etc., as contrasted with double ale, etc., which is stronger. [Obs.] --Nares. Single bill (Law), a written engagement, generally under seal, for the payment of money, without a penalty. --Burril. Single court (Lawn Tennis), a court laid out for only two players. Single-cut file. See the Note under 4th File. Single entry. See under Bookkeeping. Single file. See under 1st File. Single flower (Bot.), a flower with but one set of petals, as a wild rose. Single knot. See Illust. under Knot. Single whip (Naut.), a single rope running through a fixed block.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(singles, singling, singled) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use single to emphasize that you are referring to one thing, and no more than one thing. A single shot rang out... Over six hundred people were wounded in a single day... She hadn't uttered a single word. ADJ: ADJ n [emphasis] 2. You use single to indicate that you are considering something on its own and separately from other things like it. Every single house in town had been damaged... The Middle East is the world's single most important source of oil. ADJ: det ADJ [emphasis] 3. Someone who is single is not married. You can also use single to describe someone who does not have a girlfriend or boyfriend. Is it difficult being a single mother?... Gay men are now eligible to become foster parents whether they are single or have partners. ADJ 4. A single room is a room intended for one person to stay or live in. A single room at the Astir Hotel costs £56 a night. ADJ: usu ADJ n • Single is also a noun. It's £65 for a single, £98 for a double and £120 for an entire suite. N-COUNT 5. A single bed is wide enough for one person to sleep in. ADJ: ADJ n 6. A single ticket is a ticket for a journey from one place to another but not back again. (BRIT) The price of a single ticket is thirty-nine pounds. ? return ADJ: usu ADJ n • Single is also a noun. (in AM, use one-way) ...a Club Class single to Los Angeles. N-COUNT 7. A single or a CD single is a CD which has a few short songs on it. You can also refer to the main song on a CD as a single. The winners will get a chance to release their own single. N-COUNT 8. Singles is a game of tennis or badminton in which one player plays another. The plural singles can be used to refer to one or more of these matches. Boris Becker of Germany won the men's singles... 9. in single file: see file see also single-

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Sole, one only. 2. Particular, individual, separate. 3. Unmarried, unwedded. 4. Pure, simple, unmixed, uncompounded. 5. Alone, solitary, isolated. 6. Sincere, uncorrupt, unbiassed, upright, ingenuous, simple, honest. II. v. a. Choose, select, single out.

Moby Thesaurus

a certain, an, any, any one, appropriate, article, atomic, austere, bachelorlike, bare, basic, candid, celibataire, celibate, characteristic, chaste, choose, cull, distinct, distinctive, distinguish, distinguished, either, elementary, entity, especial, essential, exclusive, fasten on, fix on, footloose and fancy-free, free, fundamental, homely, homespun, homogeneous, husbandless, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, in character, individual, indivisible, integer, integral, intrinsic, irreducible, isolated, item, lone, maiden, maidenly, marked, mere, misogamist, misogynist, module, monadic, monastic, monistic, monk, monolithic, nun, of a piece, old-maidish, one, only, open, particular, peculiar, person, persona, pick, plain, point, priest, primal, primary, proper, pure, pure and simple, quintessential, segregate, select, separate, severe, simon-pure, simple, single out, singleton, singular, sole, solid, solitary, soul, spare, special, specific, spinsterish, spinsterlike, spinsterly, spouseless, stark, true to form, unadorned, unanalyzable, unattached, uncluttered, undifferenced, undifferentiated, undivided, unfettered, uniform, unique, unit, unitary, unmarried, unshared, unwed, unwedded, virgin, virginal, whole