Meaning & use
single-family
Last updated
UK/ˌsɪŋɡəl ˈfæməli/
US/ˌsɪŋɡəl ˈfæməli/
Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Designed for one household to live in, and not divided into separate apartments.
Grammar: Comes before the noun: a single-family home, not the home is single-family.
Patterns
- single-family home
- single-family zoning
They bought a single-family home in the suburbs.
The neighborhood allows only single-family houses.
Single-family housing costs more per person than apartments.
Common combinations
- single-family home
- A single-family home with a yard is their dream.
- single-family zoning
- Single-family zoning limits new apartment blocks.
- single-family dwelling
- The permit covers one single-family dwelling.
- single-family lot
- They sold a single-family lot near the lake.
Synonyms and how they differ
- detached
- Detached is the British word for a house standing alone, whereas single-family also suggests legal use by one household.
- standalone
- Standalone says only that a building is separate, not who lives in it.
- one-family
- One-family is a rarer variant that means the same but sounds less standard.
Opposites
multifamilymulti-unit
Word family
Commonly confused: single-family or single-family vs single-parent?
single-family vs single-family vs single-parent
Single-parent describes a family with one parent, while single-family describes the type of building.
Practice
A single-family home is ___.
Choose one answer.
Single-family means for one household, which may include several people. It is not an apartment block or limited to one person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “single-family”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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