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.
"In the end, everything worked out. Everyone went down in a single file, everyone helping, and we managed to finish the trail, see the sunrise, and experience that adrenaline rush," Nobre told the paper.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 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
Their flashlights swung left to right as around a dozen men walked single file across the hilltop.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025
Drone footage from the weekend showed long lines of men and boys standing or walking in single file.
From Salon • Oct. 30, 2024
We go single file to get around a family with little kids, and Jonah stays a couple of steps behind me even once we’ve passed them.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
