Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - single

(singles, singling, singled) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use single to emphasize that you are referring to one thing, and no more than one thing. A single shot rang out... Over six hundred people were wounded in a single day... She hadn’t uttered a single word. ADJ: ADJ n c darkgreen]emphasis 2. You use single to indicate that you are considering something on its own and separately from other things like it. Every single house in town had been damaged... The Middle East is the world’s single most important source of oil. ADJ: det ADJ c darkgreen]emphasis 3. Someone who is single is not married. You can also use single to describe someone who does not have a girlfriend or boyfriend. Is it difficult being a single mother?... Gay men are now eligible to become foster parents whether they are single or have partners. ADJ 4. A single room is a room intended for one person to stay or live in. A single room at the Astir Hotel costs ?56 a night. ADJ: usu ADJ n • Single is also a noun. It’s ?65 for a single, ?98 for a double and ?120 for an entire suite. N-COUNT 5. A single bed is wide enough for one person to sleep in. ADJ: ADJ n 6. A single ticket is a ticket for a journey from one place to another but not back again. (BRIT) The price of a single ticket is thirty-nine pounds. ? return ADJ: usu ADJ n • Single is also a noun. (in AM, use one-way) ...a Club Class single to Los Angeles. N-COUNT 7. A single or a CD single is a CD which has a few short songs on it. You can also refer to the main song on a CD as a single. The winners will get a chance to release their own single. N-COUNT 8. Singles is a game of tennis or badminton in which one player plays another. The plural singles can be used to refer to one or more of these matches. Boris Becker of Germany won the men’s singles... N-UNCOUNT 9. in single file: see file see also single-