Meaning of single file in English:

single file

noun

in singular

A line of people or things arranged one behind another.
‘we trooped along in single file’
- ‘a single-file column’
- ‘And as always, please a form a single-file line behind me at all times.’
- ‘They played Elvis songs over the loudspeaker and then, the fans were allowed in, in a single-file line.’
- ‘In a single-file line, they went to the cafeteria.’
- ‘Raising her voice, the woman cried, ‘Make a neat, single-file line and we will get to you as soon as possible!’’
- ‘They all moved in one, large, single-file line heading east, everyone wearing similar, nondescript black office suits.’
- ‘The children formed their ragged single-file line at the door and silently marched out after their teacher.’
- ‘Plant annuals in large blocks of single colors or varieties, instead of single-file rows, for the most dramatic effect.’
- ‘So thickly woven was the barrier of trees that military formations dissolved into single-file columns.’
- ‘The most recent video installation in this substantial survey was Time Left, a daunting four-wall projection in which floor-to-ceiling rows of tiny single-file figures hold hands and march endlessly in place.’
- ‘After the game, while the Bucs' cheerleaders are celebrating on the field, the Raiderettes walk out in single-file line looking like they're on some kind of a death march.’
- ‘I think the other series, when they ran, until they put these big parachutes behind them, they mostly ran in single-file procession.’
- ‘Where it happened the road was only single-file traffic, so we crawled slowly and finished up outside the Hilton Hotel.’
- ‘They allow near empty buses to cruise in near empty bus lanes next to single-file jams of nose-to-tail traffic.’
- ‘On a bright Saturday a few weeks later, the place was crammed with visitors and crawling with baby strollers, and single-file crowds circulated endlessly, chattering, pointing, exclaiming.’
- ‘When it comes to boarding the Ark, only a few hours would be required for 2,000 animals even assuming single-file entry!’
- ‘Seattle's two current runways are too close together to allow simultaneous landings during bad weather, forcing planes to line up in single file to land.’
- ‘The final uphill section of the 181 km stage from Civitavecchia to Tivoli prevented a mass sprint, and cyclists crossed the finish line in single file.’
- ‘Behind this man, in the background, women dressed in traditional black clothing are assembled in single file lines.’
- ‘Then we were lined up again in single file and tattooed on the forearm.’
- ‘In single file the troop left the camp, followed by the sleepy eyes of those left behind, and passed into the shadows of the mountainside woods.’

adverb

One behind another.
‘we walked single file’
- ‘I loved the old brick building in Cranmer Square, notwithstanding that once enrolled there were rules such as no talking or running in the corridors and walking single file.’
- ‘Gabe and Raj were standing by the door, and when I entered the room we were all ordered to walk outside single file, where we met our friends in the parking lot.’
- ‘For example, we see the children in our neighborhood walking to school single file because The Robot shovels a narrow strip off the sidewalk.’
- ‘There are many public schools here and school children in brightly coloured uniforms can be seen walking single file along the mountain roads.’
- ‘Whenever you went anywhere outside with your friends, you always walked single file, to hide your numbers.’
- ‘As our party walked single file along a narrow path, one careless step left me being sucked waist deep into mud.’
- ‘Three men and a woman walked single file towards them.’
- ‘Fifteen of us walked single file down the large hallway.’
- ‘The group got up and grabbed their coats, opening the door they walked out single file to Saul's truck and climbed in for their trek to the mountains.’
- ‘Matt nodded his head at them as they walked past, single file.’
- ‘Once again, they were walking single file, and he was in the lead.’
- ‘Cameramen laden with heavy equipment stand single-file on the stairs of a Madrid apartment building.’
- ‘A troop of seven boars runs single-file across the hill.’
- ‘As our group spreads out single-file, I lose sight of everyone except the porter directly in front of me.’
- ‘They were escorted single-file between sessions.’
- ‘He blew it once, and we marched single-file into the school, then scrambled down the unlit halls to reach our homerooms before the bell.’
- ‘We hiked single-file through the varzea, a type of jungle whose undergrowth isn't terribly dense and whose floor lay under water several months each year (it wasn't flooded now).’
- ‘In another, columns of figures stacked single-file form a striped pattern.’
- ‘Four other men came to the tree, and the six lined up single-file.’
- ‘Thirteen boys walked to the campfire single-file behind Freddie.’