double - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English numbers (edit)

← 1 2 3 →
Cardinal: two Ordinal: second Abbreviated ordinal: 2nd Latinate ordinal: secondary Reverse order ordinal: second last, second to last, second from last, last but one Latinate reverse order ordinal: penultimate Adverbial: two times, twice Multiplier: twofold Latinate multiplier: double Distributive: doubly Germanic collective: pair, twosome Collective of n parts: doublet, couple, couplet Greek or Latinate collective: dyad Metric collective prefix: double- Greek collective prefix: di-, duo- Latinate collective prefix: bi- Fractional: half Metric fractional prefix: demi- Latinate fractional prefix: semi- Greek fractional prefix: hemi- Elemental: twin, doublet Greek prefix: deutero- Number of musicians: duo, duet, duplet Number of years: biennium
PIE word
*dwóh₁

From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

double (not comparable)

  1. Made up of two matching or complementary elements.
    The closet has double doors.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, “A Lady in Company”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      “ […] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Such is not the usage of civilized warfare. Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
    • 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist‎[1], volume 408, number 8848, archived from the original on 30 September 2020:
      The [Washington] Post's proprietor through those turbulent [Watergate] days, Katharine Graham, held a double place in Washington’s hierarchy: at once regal Georgetown hostess and scrappy newshound, ready to hold the establishment to account.
  2. Of twice the quantity.
    Give me a double serving of mashed potatoes.
    Britain's population density used to be double that of China.
    • 2019 January 26, Kitty Empire [pseudonym], “The Streets review – the agony and ecstasy of a great everyman”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 April 2019:
      The 40-year-old [Mike Skinner] is happy to put his body on the line in other ways, swapping a mug of tea for a fan's double pint of lager and messily necking it in one.
    • 2024 May 23, Laura He, “Bargain-hungry Americans are flocking to Temu and making its Chinese owner very rich”, in CNN Business‎[3], archived from the original on 15 August 2024:
      The Shanghai-based company reported Wednesday that net profit soared 246% to 28 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2024, more than double the average analyst estimate of 12.62 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), according to LSEG data.
  3. Of a family relationship, related on both the maternal and paternal sides of a family.
    He's my double cousin as my mother's sister married my father's brother.
  4. Designed for two (people, cars, etc.).
    a double room
    a double garage
  5. Folded in two; composed of two layers.
  6. Stooping; bent over.
  7. Having two aspects; ambiguous.
    a double meaning
    • 1927, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados Mysteries:
      Assuming the accuracy of his information, the curious fact was established that Mr Rigby Lacksome, ostensibly in England to attend the book sales, had prompted a convenient organization to carry out a raid on a certain historic building, while he himself immediately appeared on the scene with an arrangement to make good the damage. […] Was there, indeed, some double purpose here at work?
  8. False, deceitful, or hypocritical.
    a double life
    • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:
      A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell
      Then Cerberus the cur couching in the kenel of hel;
      Wherof hereafter, I thinke for to write,
      Of fals double tunges in the diſpite.
  9. Of flowers, having more than the normal number of petals.
  10. (music) Of an instrument, sounding an octave lower.
    a double bass
  11. (music) Of time, twice as fast.

made up of two matching or complementary elements — see also dual

twice the quantity

designed for two

in music, of time, twice as fast.

Number 1 2 3 4 5
Modifier single / solo double / twofold triple / threefold quadruple / fourfold quintuple / pentuple / fivefold
Whole loner / singleton / monad pair / couple / twosome / duo / dyad trio / threesome / triad / troika foursome / quartet / tetrad fivesome / quintet / pentad
Part only one / singlet twin / one of two / doublet triplet / one of three quadruplet / one of four quintuplet / pentuplet / one of five
Number 6 7 8 9 10
Modifier sextuple / hextuple / sixfold septuple / heptuple / sevenfold octuple / eightfold ninefold / nonuple tenfold / decuple
Whole sixsome / sextet / hexad sevensome / septet / heptad eightsome / octet / octad ninesome / nonet / ennead tensome / decet / decad
Part sextuplet / hextuplet / one of six one of seven / septuplet / heptuplet octuplet / one of eight one of nine / nonuplet one of ten / decuplet
Number 11 12 13 100 many
Modifier elevenfold / undecuple / hendecuple twelvefold / duodecuple thirteenfold / tredecuple a hundredfold / centuple multiple
Whole elevensome twelvesome thirteensome hundredsome
Part one of eleven / undecuplet / hendecuplet one of twelve / duodecuplet one of thirteen / tredecuplet one of a hundred / centuplet one of many / multiplet

double (not comparable)

  1. Twice over; twofold; doubly.
  2. Two together; two at a time.
    There are only a few beds, so some of the children will have to sleep double for the night.
  3. Into two halves or sections.
    The old man was bent double under his heavy burden.

double (plural doubles)

  1. Twice the number, amount, size, etc.
  2. A person who resembles and stands in for another person, often for safety purposes
    Saddam Hussein was rumored to have many doubles.
  3. A drink with two portions of alcohol.
    On second thought, make that a double.
  4. A ghostly apparition of a living person; a doppelgänger.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbj&oslash￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 71:
      According to the description our captain had given me of Peter Sandaker once when he had dropped behind on the march, he was particularly good at telling tales and stories about goblin-birds, doubles, and fairies, and had a special fancy for entering into the most minute details, whenever he commenced telling about one or the other of the eighteen bears he had killed in his time.
  5. A sharp turn, especially a return on one's own tracks.
  6. A redundant item for which an identical item already exists.
    I have more than 200 stamps in my collection but they're not all unique: some are doubles.
    Before printing the photos, Liam deleted the doubles.
  7. (baseball) A two-base hit.
    The catcher hit a double to lead off the ninth.
  8. (bridge) A call that increases certain scoring points if the last preceding bid becomes the contract.
  9. (billiards, snooker) A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket.
    • 2023 May 1, Steve Sutcliffe, “World Snooker Championship 2023 final: Luca Brecel beats Mark Selby for first world title”, in BBC Sport:
      Brecel fired in doubles, a succession of stunning long pots and seemingly cleared balls at will as he rattled through the first four frames in under an hour.
  10. A bet on two horses in different races in which any winnings from the first race are placed on the horse in the later race.
  1. (darts) The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard.
  2. (darts) A hit on this ring.
  3. (dominoes) A tile that has the same value (i.e., the same number of pips) on both sides.
  4. (programming) A double-precision floating-point number.
    The sine function returns a double.
  5. (soccer) Two competitions, usually one league and one cup, won by the same team in a single season.
  6. (rowing) A boat for two scullers.
  7. (sports) The feat of scoring twice in one game.
  1. (sports, chiefly swimming and track) The feat of winning two events in a single meet or competition.
    In 1996, Michael Johnson achieved a double by winning both the 200 and 400 meter dashes.
  2. (cricket) The achievement of 1000 runs and 100 wickets taken in a single season.
  3. (historical) A former French coin worth one-sixth of a sou.
  4. (historical, Guernsey) A copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny.
  1. (music) Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately.
  2. (Christianity) A double feast.
  3. Synonym of double-quick (“fast marching pace”).
  4. (music) A secondary instrument with which a musician is skilled.
  1. (slang, dated) A double-cross or betrayal.

twice the number or size etc

a person resembling or standing for another — see also doppelganger

redundant item for which an identical item already exists

double (third-person singular simple present doubles, present participle doubling, simple past and past participle doubled)

  1. (transitive) To multiply by two.
    The company doubled their earnings per share over last quarter.
  2. (intransitive) To increase by 100%, to become twice as large in size.
    Our earnings have doubled in the last year.
  3. To be the double of; to exceed by twofold; to contain or be worth twice as much as.
  4. (transitive) To fold over so as to make two folds.
    To make a pleat, double the material at the waist.
  5. (transitive, sometimes followed by up) To clench (a fist).
  6. (baseball) To get a two-base hit.
    The batter doubled into the corner.
  7. (transitive, often followed by together or up) To join or couple.
  8. (transitive) To repeat exactly; copy.
  9. (intransitive) To serve a second role or have a second purpose. [with_ **as**]
    _A spork is a kind of fork that doubles as a spoon.
  10. (ambitransitive, sometimes with "for") To act as substitute for (another theatrical performer in a certain role, etc).
  1. (theater) To play (both one part and another, in the same play, etc).
  1. (intransitive) To turn sharply, following a winding course.
  2. (nautical) To sail around (a headland or other point).
  1. (music) To duplicate (a part) either in unison or at the octave above or below it.
  2. (music, intransitive, usually followed by "on") To be capable of performing (upon an additional instrument).
  3. (bridge) To make a call that will double certain scoring points if the preceding bid becomes the contract.
  4. (card games, intransitive) To double down.
  5. (billiards, snooker, pool) To cause (a ball) to rebound from a cushion before entering the pocket.
  6. (intransitive) To go or march at twice the normal speed.
  1. (transitive) To multiply the strength or effect of by two.
    Sorry, this store does not double coupons.
  2. (military) To unite, as ranks or files, so as to form one from each two.
  3. (radio, informal, of a station) To transmit simultaneously on the same channel as another station, either unintentionally or deliberately, causing interference.
    Could you please repeat your last transmission? Another station was doubling with you.
  4. (espionage, intransitive) To operate as a double agent.

(transitive) to multiply by two

(intransitive) to increase by 100%

baseball: to get a two-base hit

to clench

to copy

nautical: to sail around something

music: to duplicate a part

music: to be capable of performing upon an additional instrument

billiards: to cause to rebound from a cushion

to act as substitute

to go at twice the normal speed

to multiply the effect or strength of by two

From English double.

double

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) times; -fold (Classifier: 個／个 c)
    使多一個double／使多一个double [Hong Kong Cantonese] ― sai2 do1 jat1 go3 dap1 bou4 [Jyutping] ― to use onefold more

double

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to double; to increase by 100%

Inherited from Old French doble, from Latin duplus.

French numbers (edit)

← 1 2 3 →
Cardinal: deux Ordinal: deuxième, second Ordinal abbreviation: 2e, 2d, (nonstandard) 2ème, (nonstandard) 2nd Multiplier: double Fractional: demi, moitié
French Wikipedia article on 2

double (plural doubles)

  1. double (all senses), two
    Il s'agit d'une phrase à double sens.
    It is a phrase of two sentences.
  2. (music) sixteenth note
    une double croche ― a sixteenth note

double m (plural doubles)

  1. double (twice the number, amount, etc.)
    Je n'en avais pas assez, alors j'en acheté le double.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  2. duplicate (an identical copy)
    Faire un double de ses clés.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  3. (baseball) double

double

  1. inflection of doubler:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative