1
a
: not married
b
: of or relating to celibacy
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
7
: having no equal or like : singular
8
: designed for the use of one person only
a single room
a single bed
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
singled; singling
ˈsiŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 
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
: to make a single in baseball
Synonyms
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
Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
Even single losses have been ultra rare this season for the University of Arkansas, which was ranked No. 1 and off to the best start in school history at 30-3 after its 5-3 win over No. 17 Alabama on Friday.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Along with debuting on the Hot 100, the single re-enters Hot Alternative Songs at No. 8 and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs at No. 9 (nearly matching its No. 7 peak from last July).
—Xander Zellner, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Feeding on beetles, mosquitoes and moths, a single bat can eat half its body weight in insects each night, benefitting Hoosiers out for an evening stroll as well as farmers plagued with pests.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024
With a solid plunk, the metal sphere found its home just before the single minute allotted for the task ran out.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
One of our editors says she’s used it in nearly every single workout for the last six months.
—Jessica Kasparian, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024
With heavier usage, many people now have built up a tolerance and may need to smoke multiple joints with 2% THC or buy a single joint with 6% to get a similar feeling.
—Patrick Martin, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
While training and protections likely could not have prevented the deaths of the workers on the Baltimore bridge, Quintero said the tragedy was a reminder of the immense risk some migrant construction workers take every single day, heading out to perform dangerous but essential jobs.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 17 Apr. 2024
Corona del Mar 3, Laguna Beach 1: Stevie Jones (8-1) threw a two-hitter for Corona del Mar.
South Hills 3, Walnut 2: Matt Manzo had the game-winning two-run single for South Hills.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Walker’s single against Kelly drove in the second run.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
As a member of Little Mix, Perrie has five U.K. No. 1 singles, 19 top 10s and 32 top 40 appearances.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Big singles, especially diss tracks, almost always went through a step-by-step process before the full version reached the public.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
Tennis Channel will broadcast every round of the Barcelona Open (also known as the Torneo Conde de Godó), including men’s singles and men’s doubles.
—Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Apr. 2024
And then the Marlins scored three runs in the sixth to take their first lead, with Jesus Sanchez hitting a game-tying RBI single to tie the game and chase Braves starter Charlie Morton before Nick Gordon hit a go-ahead two-run home run off Atlanta reliever Dylan Lee to put Miami up 7-5.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
Lucy Sherburne reached on an error and scored on a single by Ashley Wood.
—Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
Kyles singled and Phelps walked before Brunetti lined a single that landed on the right-field foul line to score Kyles.
—Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2024
Next, Hunter Renfroe singled to set up a prime scoring opportunity.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Molina cruised through the second inning, but Luke Hill singled with one out in the third and Fischer launched a 364-foot home run to right field to make it 4-3.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4, Servite 2: With the bases loaded, two outs and the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dom Cadiz singled to pushed across a run and help the Knights win in the National Classic semifinals.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Destiny Solis tripled, doubled and singled and knocked in two and April Price finished with three hits for Milpitas, which dropped to 9-7, 2-1.
—Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Motherhood is becoming more and more commonplace in professional tennis with approximately 20 moms on the WTA Tour, including six competing in the Miami Open singles main draw over the past week.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Gavin Flores then singled to load the bases and Cole Strane followed with a walk one out later to force in JSerra’s only run.
—Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Theoretically, dozens of different people working on various aspects of the project could convene here, hashing out decisions in real time before a single brick is laid.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
Even single losses have been ultra rare this season for the University of Arkansas, which was ranked No. 1 and off to the best start in school history at 30-3 after its 5-3 win over No. 17 Alabama on Friday.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Along with debuting on the Hot 100, the single re-enters Hot Alternative Songs at No. 8 and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs at No. 9 (nearly matching its No. 7 peak from last July).
—Xander Zellner, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Feeding on beetles, mosquitoes and moths, a single bat can eat half its body weight in insects each night, benefitting Hoosiers out for an evening stroll as well as farmers plagued with pests.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024
With a solid plunk, the metal sphere found its home just before the single minute allotted for the task ran out.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
One of our editors says she’s used it in nearly every single workout for the last six months.
—Jessica Kasparian, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024
With heavier usage, many people now have built up a tolerance and may need to smoke multiple joints with 2% THC or buy a single joint with 6% to get a similar feeling.
—Patrick Martin, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
While training and protections likely could not have prevented the deaths of the workers on the Baltimore bridge, Quintero said the tragedy was a reminder of the immense risk some migrant construction workers take every single day, heading out to perform dangerous but essential jobs.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Green beat it by a fraction for an infield RBI single.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 17 Apr. 2024
Corona del Mar 3, Laguna Beach 1: Stevie Jones (8-1) threw a two-hitter for Corona del Mar.
South Hills 3, Walnut 2: Matt Manzo had the game-winning two-run single for South Hills.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Walker’s single against Kelly drove in the second run.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
As a member of Little Mix, Perrie has five U.K. No. 1 singles, 19 top 10s and 32 top 40 appearances.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
Big singles, especially diss tracks, almost always went through a step-by-step process before the full version reached the public.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
Tennis Channel will broadcast every round of the Barcelona Open (also known as the Torneo Conde de Godó), including men’s singles and men’s doubles.
—Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Apr. 2024
And then the Marlins scored three runs in the sixth to take their first lead, with Jesus Sanchez hitting a game-tying RBI single to tie the game and chase Braves starter Charlie Morton before Nick Gordon hit a go-ahead two-run home run off Atlanta reliever Dylan Lee to put Miami up 7-5.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
Lucy Sherburne reached on an error and scored on a single by Ashley Wood.
—Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Verb
Three batters later, Butner singled to center field and scored Gonzales and Benji O’Rourke to tie the game.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
Kyles singled and Phelps walked before Brunetti lined a single that landed on the right-field foul line to score Kyles.
—Jim Lindgren, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2024
Next, Hunter Renfroe singled to set up a prime scoring opportunity.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Molina cruised through the second inning, but Luke Hill singled with one out in the third and Fischer launched a 364-foot home run to right field to make it 4-3.
—Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4, Servite 2: With the bases loaded, two outs and the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dom Cadiz singled to pushed across a run and help the Knights win in the National Classic semifinals.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Destiny Solis tripled, doubled and singled and knocked in two and April Price finished with three hits for Milpitas, which dropped to 9-7, 2-1.
—Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Motherhood is becoming more and more commonplace in professional tennis with approximately 20 moms on the WTA Tour, including six competing in the Miami Open singles main draw over the past week.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Gavin Flores then singled to load the bases and Cole Strane followed with a walk one out later to force in JSerra’s only run.
—Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near single
Cite this Entry
“Single.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
single
1 of 3 adjective
sin·gle
ˈsiŋ-gəl
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 noun1
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
1
: to select (a person or thing) from a number or group
—usually used with out
2
: to make a single in baseball
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share