singleton
noun
sin·gle·ton
ˈsiŋ-gəl-tən 
1
: a card that is the only one of its suit originally dealt to a player
2
a
: an individual member or thing distinct from others grouped with it
b
: an offspring born singly
singletons are more common than twins
Examples of singleton in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In two-minute videos posted to the show’s Instagram and TikTok accounts, which collectively have nearly 400,000 followers, Ms. Dag facetiously interviews local singletons about their biggest dating failures, quirks, kinks and toxic traits.
—
Inge Oosterhoff, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Against that reasonable contract, West led his singleton club, and East won and returned a club for down one, no swing.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
West led the deuce of clubs, which looked, waddled and quacked like a singleton; still, declarer took the queen, drew trumps and led another club.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
Then against four hearts, West led his singleton diamond: king, eight, seven.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
There’s no widespread asymmetrical power structure with singletons at the top and twins at the bottom.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024
Using data from the National Vital Statistics System, the analysis only looks at singleton births, since multiple births like twins and triplets tend to be born at earlier gestational ages, the authors note.
—Sara Moniuszko, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2024
On average, adult twins seem to be healthier and more content than singletons.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024
The relative rarity of twins invites speculation about how their experience is distinct from that of singletons—and what that distinctiveness can teach us about personhood.
—Christine Rosen, WSJ, 29 Dec. 2023
Inge Oosterhoff, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Against that reasonable contract, West led his singleton club, and East won and returned a club for down one, no swing.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
West led the deuce of clubs, which looked, waddled and quacked like a singleton; still, declarer took the queen, drew trumps and led another club.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
Then against four hearts, West led his singleton diamond: king, eight, seven.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
There’s no widespread asymmetrical power structure with singletons at the top and twins at the bottom.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024
Using data from the National Vital Statistics System, the analysis only looks at singleton births, since multiple births like twins and triplets tend to be born at earlier gestational ages, the authors note.
—Sara Moniuszko, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2024
On average, adult twins seem to be healthier and more content than singletons.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024
The relative rarity of twins invites speculation about how their experience is distinct from that of singletons—and what that distinctiveness can teach us about personhood.
—Christine Rosen, WSJ, 29 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'singleton.' 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 singleton
Cite this Entry
“Singleton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/singleton. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
singleton
noun
sin·gle·ton
ˈsiŋ-gəl-tən
: an offspring born singly
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