Meaning & use
single-sided
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Having something printed, written, or recorded on only one of the two flat surfaces.
Grammar: Sits before the noun it describes: a single-sided copy, a single-sided page.
Patterns
- a single-sided copy
- single-sided printing
Please hand in a single-sided copy of your essay, not a double-sided one.
The printer was set to single-sided printing, so I used twice as much paper.
adjectivebefore a noun
Having an usable surface, coating, or layer on one face only.
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe tape, boards, and similar materials: single-sided tape.
Patterns
- single-sided tape
- single-sided foam board
I bought single-sided tape because I only needed to stick one surface down.
The single-sided circuit board has components on just one face.
adjectivebefore a nounfigurative
Involving or coming from one side only, especially in an argument or account.
Grammar: Describes something one-sided in nature; it appears before the noun: a single-sided account.
Patterns
- a single-sided argument
- a single-sided view
The report gave a single-sided account that ignored the other team's evidence.
It was a single-sided debate, with nobody speaking for the other position.
Word forms
| no comparative | — |
|---|
Common combinations
- single-sided printing
- Switch to single-sided printing if you want to write notes on the back.
- single-sided copy
- The photocopier made a single-sided copy of my passport.
- single-sided tape
- Use single-sided tape for wrapping gifts.
- single-sided page
- A single-sided page wastes the other half of the sheet.
- print something single-sided
- The instructions say to print the form single-sided.
Synonyms and how they differ
- one-sided
- More common for arguments, games, and unfair situations; single-sided is more literal and used for paper, tape, and boards.
- unilateral
- Formal and mostly about decisions or actions taken by one party, not about paper or materials.
Opposites
Word family
- single side noun
- One of the two flat surfaces of something.
- double-sided adjective
- Having content or an usable surface on both faces.
Commonly confused: single-sided or one-sided?
single-sided vs one-sided
One-sided usually means unfair or unequal, as in a one-sided match. Single-sided is more physical: printed or coated on one face only.
Practice
Which sentence uses "single-sided" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Single-sided copy" means the text appears on one face of the paper only, which is the main use of this word. Option 0 needs "one-sided" for an unfair match, and options 2 and 3 are not natural uses of this adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “single-sided”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.