single

1 of 3

adjective

sin·​gle ˈsiŋ-gəl How to pronounce single (audio)
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
7
: having no equal or like : singular
8
: designed for the use of one person only
a single room
a single bed

single

2 of 3

noun

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
singles 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 sense 7

single

3 of 3

verb

singled; singling ˈsiŋ-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce single (audio)

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

Examples of single in a Sentence

Adjective A single shoe was found. It costs $10 for a single glass of wine! a single serving of carrots He earns $2,000 in a single week. Noun He hit a single to right field. Do you want to play singles or doubles? Verb He singled to right field.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Use their prop bet builder to construct Hail Mary wagers with just a few clicks or create same-game parlays that ride on a single lucky pass. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The film, which had 13 nominations going into the night and won seven, fell short of the record for most Oscars won in a single night by a movie. Herb Scribner, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 The win ties the American with Lindsey Vonn and Ingemar Stenmark, who both clinched eight crystal globes – the trophy for Alpine skiing World Cup season titles – in a single discipline. Ben Church, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Many companies leave their recruiting to HR, where a single generalized team handles hiring for the entire organization. Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024 There is no single style or subject that unites Everett’s novels, but many of them feature one of two psychological settings. Maya Binyam, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Against that backdrop, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — herself the single mother of a single child — is agitating for her compatriots to give parenting a second chance, and in December brought Elon Musk to Rome to beat that drum. Alessandra Migliaccio, Fortune Europe, 11 Mar. 2024 The single subsequently won Song of the Year that night, as well as Best Song Written for for Visual Media. Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2024 The image was intended to be on the cover of the single bag and is now on the disc as a UV print. Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single. Tatiana Tenreyro, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2024 Diggs and McLaughlin got the rally started with one-out singles. Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 11 Mar. 2024 He is also known for opening the bar Malachy’s in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which was credited as the borough’s first singles bar. Jaden Thompson, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Boyle’s only hit permitted was an infield single to speedy star Corbin Carroll. Jon Becker, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Clara Louise Zinke: The local tennis star reached 18 finals in the Cincinnati Open tournament in the 1920s, winning 12 titles for singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2024 Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big new singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2024 The pair released their debut album in 2012, and went on to sell 4.6 million albums and notch 16 No. 1 singles. Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 Now, as the targeted press campaign Mercuri orchestrated around Joel’s new single — which included stops at The Howard Stern Show and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — wanes, the next several months promise to keep her busy. Melinda Newman, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2024
Verb
In the fifth, Easton Dowell doubled, Ben David singled and Gage Trahan walked to load the bases off Molina, and Van Horn called on reliever Gage Wood (3-0). Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 11 Mar. 2024 Shohei Ohtani singled twice, drove in a run and walked ahead of Freeman’s slam. Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Jo Adell singled, improving to 3 for 8 this spring. Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 29 Feb. 2024 Over the past half-century, America has gone from a country in which the predominant home buyer was a nuclear family with about three children to one in which singles, empty nesters and couples without children have become a much larger share of the population. Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 The praise for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) may come as a surprise after the magazine singled them out for criticism last fall in its survey of vehicle reliability. Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 27 Feb. 2024 Nola singled in his first at-bat of the spring, finishing Monday’s game 1-for-3 as the Royals beat the Cubs 6-0. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2024 The former Wimbledon girls singles champion is happy to call out nonsense and venom in a moderate manner. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Last year, federal regulators alleged Citi illegally discriminated against Armenian Americans for years, singling them out on credit card applications based on their last names. Matt Egan, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'single.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English sengle, from Anglo-French, from Latin singulus one only; akin to Latin sem- one — more at same

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1628, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of single was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near single

Cite this Entry

“Single.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

single

1 of 3 adjective
sin·​gle ˈsiŋ-gəl How to pronounce single (audio)
1
: not married
especially : never having been married
2
: being alone : being the only one
the single survivor of the disaster
3
: consisting of one
a single standard
4
: having only one row of petals or ray flowers around the center of a blossom
a single rose
5
a
: consisting of a separate whole : individual
each single citizen
b
: of, relating to, or involving only one person
6
: being a whole
a single world
7
: designed for the use of one person only
a single room
a single bed
singleness noun

single

2 of 3 noun
1
a
: a separate individual person or thing
b
: an unmarried adult
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
2
: a hit in baseball that enables a batter to reach first base safely
3
plural : a game (as of tennis) between two players

single

3 of 3 verb
singled; singling ˈsiŋ-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce single (audio)
1
: to select (a person or thing) from a number or group
usually used with out
2
: to make a single in baseball

More from Merriam-Webster on single

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!