single
single (sĭngʹgəl) adjective
1. Not accompanied by another or others; solitary.
2. a. Consisting of one part, aspect, or section: a single thickness; a single serving. b. Having the same application for all; uniform: a single moral code for all. c. 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. a. Separate from others; individual and distinct: Every single child will receive a gift. b. Having individual opponents; involving two individuals only: single combat.
5. a. Honest; undisguised: a single adoration. b. Wholly attentive: You must judge the contest with a single eye.
6. Designed to accommodate one person: a single bed.
7. a. Unmarried. b. Lacking a partner: a single parent. c. Relating to the unmarried state: enjoys the single life. d. Of or relating to celibacy.
8. Botany. Having only one rank or row of petals: a single flower.
noun
1. One that is separate and individual.
2. An accommodation for one person, as in a hotel.
3. a. An unmarried person. b. singles Unmarried persons considered as a group: a bar for singles.
4. A one-dollar bill.
5. A phonograph record, especially a forty-five, having one song on each side.
6. Baseball. A hit by which a batter reaches first base safely; a one-base hit.
7. Sports. a. A hit for one run in cricket. b. A golf match between two players. c. Often singles A tennis or badminton match between two players.
verb
singled, singling, singles
verb, transitive
1. To choose or distinguish from others. Often used with out: We singled her out from the list of applicants.
2. Baseball. a. To cause (a base runner) to score or advance by making a one-base hit: singled him to second. b. To cause the scoring of (a run) by a one-base hit.
verb, intransitive
Baseball.
To make a single.
[Middle English sengle, from Old French, from Latin singulus.]
sinʹgleness noun
Synonyms: single, sole, unique, solitary, lone, separate. These adjectives are compared as they signify being one in number. What is single is not associated with, accompanied by, or combined with another or others: "means of destruction . . . in the employment of which no single nation can in fact have a monopoly" (Declaration on Atomic Energy). Sole implies being the only one in existence or the only one under consideration: "The sole wall decoration of his studio was a Japanese print" (Arnold Bennett). Unique in careful usage applies to what is the only one of its kind in existence: "The greatness of art is not to find what is common but what is unique" (Isaac Bashevis Singer). Solitary refers to what stands alone: "A solitary precedent . . . which has never been reexamined, cannot be conclusive" (Henry Clay). Lone applies to what stands apart from others: "It is the lone worker who makes the first advance in a subject: the details may be worked out by a team" (Alexander Fleming). Separate implies being single and disunited from all others under consideration: "Each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor" (Edgar Allan Poe).