single file
19
2.8
- noun
- /ˈsɪŋɡəl faɪl/
:
fila india
- We'll have to go single file.
The the water molecules can move through in single file, a million per second.
- The the water molecules can move through in single file, a million per second.
- It's the close nature of the jungle that mean that you're in small, you know, single files, your, your cover security is behind the tracker, you're moving very, very slowly.
Examples
-
The three old men went by, single file, each carrying a little box.
Fiction book (1994) -
When the others were down the ladder, Lazenac led them single file, crouched low, along the gulley.
Fiction book (2002) -
- Single file, gentlemen, single file.
-
All right, people, single file.
-
I stood up and watched my friends' parents leave single file, my father last in line.
Fiction book (2001) -
It's so narrow that only a single file of riders can move across it at any one time.
Fiction book (1995) -
All the guests walked in single file along the corridor, Vicenta and the children bringing up the rear.
Academic text (2007) -
The contestants drove into the arena single file while the announcer called out the names of the drivers.
Fiction book (1995) -
Three sows and their litters were scurrying in single file across the field toward the woods.
Fiction book (1999) -
The students walked in a single file to the classroom, making sure not to bump into each other.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A row of people or things standing one behind another
60
2.8
A line of people or things arranged one behind another
41
2.5
A line of people or vehicles one behind another
A single line of people or things one behind another
Antonyms
How Wide
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'single' (one, alone) modifying 'file' (a line), i.e. a line in which members are arranged one behind another. This modifier+head pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase single file comes from the simple image of people walking in one line, with each person directly behind the person in front on a narrow path. The words single and file show this idea, so it now means 'a line with each person directly behind the next' for safety or order.