singlet

American  

[sing-glit] / ˈsɪŋ glɪt /

noun

singlets plural

1. a sleeveless athletic jersey, especially a loose-fitting top worn by runners, joggers, etc.

2. a single unit; an unpaired or separate item.

3. Chiefly British. a man's undershirt or jersey.

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singlet British  

/ ˈsɪŋɡlɪt /

noun

1. a man's sleeveless undergarment covering the body from the shoulders to the hips

2. Also called (in Britain): vest.  a similar sleeveless garment worn as outerwear

3. a garment worn with shorts by athletes, boxers, etc

4. a black woollen outer garment worn by bushmen

5. physics a multiplet that has only one member

6. chem a chemical bond consisting of one electron

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• singlets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of singlet

First recorded in 1740–50; single + -et

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

singlet singlets

"It's so exciting to get to play," he smiles, his team's name – Spiked and Served – emblazoned on his singlet.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026

She’s Taylor Swift with a jump shot, Mia Hamm in a singlet; a figure so transcendent she is changing her profession.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2024

UBC researchers thought if all the right ingredients were in place -- namely, cooking in a lit area -- they might find singlet oxygen indoors where it had never been detected.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024

The singlet was not particularly radical: layered shades of white and Columbia’s signature shade, Pantone 292.

From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2024

Connor nodded, pulling his singlet up over his shoulders.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Their new-look backline's only experience together is in training singlets in practice.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026

For many years, the Kondo effect was thought to mainly suppress magnetism by locking spins into singlets, a maximally entangled state with zero total spin.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026

As the quartet approaches the final straightaway, the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners — clad in white and orange singlets — visibly appear to slow their pace, per footage obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024

Next week, District Vision is introducing women’s apparel, with sports bras, singlets, jackets, leggings, bike shorts, arm warmers and gaiters.

From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022

They were barefoot and wore singlets over trunks that dripped onto the floorboards.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan