sin·gle (sĭng'gəl)
adj.

1. Not accompanied by another or others; solitary.
2. 1. Consisting of one part, aspect, or section: a single thickness; a single serving.
   2. Having the same application for all; uniform: a single moral code for all.
   3. Consisting of one in number: She had but a single thought, which was to escape.
3. Not divided; unbroken: a single slab of ice.
4. 1. Separate from others; individual and distinct: Every single child will receive a gift.
   2. Having individual opponents; involving two individuals only: single combat.
5. 1. Honest; undisguised: a single adoration.
   2. Wholly attentive: You must judge the contest with a single eye.
6. Designed to accommodate one person: a single bed.
7. 1. Unmarried.
   2. Lacking a partner: a single parent.
   3. Relating to the unmarried state: enjoys the single life.
   4. Of or relating to celibacy.
8. Botany. Having only one rank or row of petals: a single flower.

n.

1. One that is separate and individual.
2. An accommodation for one person, as in a hotel.
3. 1. An unmarried person.
   2. singles Unmarried persons considered as a group: a bar for singles.
4. A one-dollar bill.
5. 1. A phonograph record, especially a forty-five, having one song on each side.
   2. A song on one of these sides.
   3. A song, often from a full-length album or compact disk, that is released for airplay.
6. Baseball. A hit by which a batter reaches first base safely; a one-base hit.
7. Sports.
   1. A hit for one run in cricket.
   2. A golf match between two players.
   3. A tennis or badminton match between two players. Often used in the plural.
   4. singles A competition in which individuals compete against each other, as in rowing or figure skating.

v., -gled, -gling, -gles.

v.tr.

1. To choose or distinguish from others. Often used with out: We singled her out from the list of applicants.
2. Baseball.
   1. To cause (a base runner) to score or advance by making a one-base hit: singled him to second.
   2. To cause the scoring of (a run) by a one-base hit.

v.intr. Baseball
To make a single.

[Middle English sengle, from Old French, from Latin singulus.]

singleness sin'gle·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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