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
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
James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Only 23 other players NHL players have reached that game total, and only seven others — legends, each one — have hit that mark with a single franchise.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
The Dodgers lineup stitched together a lead in the second inning after an RBI single by playoff maven Kiké Hernández.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Addison Barger walked to open the inning and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled him to second.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 21 Oct. 2025
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.
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Adjective
They’re designed to have very few or zero single points of failure.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Only 23 other players NHL players have reached that game total, and only seven others — legends, each one — have hit that mark with a single franchise.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
Just like on Friday, the Dodgers got the scoring started early after catcher Will Smith hit an RBI single to score Freddie Freeman and take a 1-0 lead.
—Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
The Dodgers lineup stitched together a lead in the second inning after an RBI single by playoff maven Kiké Hernández.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
Smith singled to right field to drive in one run but Freeman ran into an out between second and third.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Addison Barger walked to open the inning and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled him to second.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for single
Cite this Entry
“Single.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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
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