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
Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
Quantity varies from a single tutorial to the 40 projects included in our best value suggestion.
—Bob Beacham, Popular Science, 22 Nov. 2024
Thania Garcia, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
Garrix then reached out to ask about doing the production, with the result being his eighth single of 2024.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2024
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
Altuve singled off Scott Alexander with two outs in the ninth before Yordan Alvarez sent him to third on a groundball single that rolled just past diving second baseman Gelof.
—Staff and Wire Reports, The Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for single 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Investigators found evidence that multiple staff members will spray a single child, causing the child to become physically sick and immobilized.
—Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
Quantity varies from a single tutorial to the 40 projects included in our best value suggestion.
—Bob Beacham, Popular Science, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
On Thursday, Maluma celebrated the release of the new single by driving a double decker bus around his hometown of Medellín, Colombia.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
Garrix then reached out to ask about doing the production, with the result being his eighth single of 2024.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
But the Yankees’ elation lasted only moments, ending in the bottom of the third inning when Mookie Betts singled and Hernández and Freeman followed with similar blasts over the right-field fence.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
Altuve singled off Scott Alexander with two outs in the ninth before Yordan Alvarez sent him to third on a groundball single that rolled just past diving second baseman Gelof.
—Staff and Wire Reports, The Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for single
Dictionary Entries Near single
Cite this Entry
“Single.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single. Accessed 28 Nov. 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