single file
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of single file
First recorded in 1660–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At one point, visitors were prompted to walk in a single file line past two Secret Service officers holding rifles.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
One by one, cattle fall behind him single file to consume a breakfast of ground corn and hay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
Drone footage from the weekend showed long lines of men and boys standing or walking in single file.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2024
Compared to cells moving in a single file, clusters were much slower.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2024
In single file, they ushered him down a wobbly flight of wooden stairs leading to the basement and led him into a damp, gloomy room with a low cement ceiling and unfinished stone walls.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
