single file, in
Idioms-
Also, in Indian file. Aligned one behind the other, as in We have to bike in single file here, or The children were told to march in Indian file. Both usages are associated with military formations; the first term was first recorded in 1670; the variant, alluding to the usual marching order of Native Americans, was first recorded in 1758.
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see single file.
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.
According to the report, the rate had increased on only three previous occasions — 2002, 2005 and 2015 — after the CDC first linked infant births and deaths in a single file in 1995.
From Washington Times • Sep. 12, 2023
In some places, voters had to disperse and wait at the polls single file; in others, voters and poll-workers had to wear masks.
From Slate • Mar. 18, 2020
This group of women, handpicked for their good looks, talent, and loyalty to the regime stepped off the bus in single file in matching black fur hats, red coats and ankle boots.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2018
Arranged single file in the order they fell in battle, the columns stretch back like solemn processions.
From Salon • Jul. 4, 2015
Nearly three feet had fallen in the last storm, so that for a week people had to walk single file, in narrow trenches.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
