double

Etymology

13th Century. Borrowed from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdʌb.əl/, [ˈdʌb.ɫ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌbəl

Adjective

double (not comparable)

1. Made up of two matching or complementary elements.

   The closet has double doors.

   • 1915, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price, chapterI:

     “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! 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, volume 408, number 8848:

     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. Twice the quantity.

   Give me a double serving of mashed potatoes.

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 users.

   a double room

5. Folded in two; composed of two layers.
6. Stooping; bent over.
7. Having two aspects; ambiguous.

   a double meaning

8. False, deceitful, or hypocritical.

   a double life

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.

Adverb

double (not comparable)

1. Twice over; twofold.
   • Jonathan Swift

     I was double their age.

2. Two together; two at a time. (especially in see double)

Noun

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; doppelgänger.
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) A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket.
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.
11. (darts) The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard.
12. (darts) A hit on this ring.
13. (dominoes) A tile that has the same value (i.e., the same number of pips) on both sides.
14. (computing, programming) A double-precision floating-point number.

    The sin() function returns a double.

15. (soccer) Two competitions, usually one league and one cup, won by the same team in a single season.
16. (sports) The feat of scoring twice in one game.
    • 2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool”, in BBC‎:

      DJ Campbell grabbed a second-half double as Blackpool made Sunderland pay for a host of missed chances to secure a fifth away league win of the season.

17. (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.

18. (historical) A former French coin worth one-sixth of a sou.
19. (historical, Guernsey) A copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny.
    • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, page 196:

      As for doubles, they are not worth anything now; and I have still got an egg-cupful my mother used to keep handy to give the baker change from a farthing.

20. (music) Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately.

Verb

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

1. To multiply by two.

   The company doubled their earnings per share over last quarter.

2. To fold over so as to make two folds.

   To make a pleat, double the material at the waist.

3. To be the double of; to exceed by twofold; to contain or be worth twice as much as.
   • Dryden

     Thus reinforced, against the adverse fleet, / Still doubling ours, brave Rupert leads the way.

4. (intransitive) To increase by 100%, to become twice as large in size.

   Our earnings have doubled in the last year.

5. (baseball) To get a two-base hit.

   The batter doubled into the corner.

6. (transitive) (sometimes followed by up) To clench (a fist).
7. (transitive) (often followed by together or up) To join or couple.
8. (transitive) To repeat exactly; copy.
9. (intransitive) (often followed by as) To play a second part or serve a second role.

   A spork is a kind of fork that doubles as a spoon.

10. (intransitive) To turn sharply; following a winding course.
11. (nautical) To sail around (a headland or other point).
    • Knolles

      Sailing along the coast, he doubled the promontory of Carthage.

    • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

      […] though the island itself was not very large […] I found a great ledge of rocks lie out about two leagues into the sea...so that I was obliged to go a great way out to sea to double the point.

12. (music) To duplicate (a part) either in unison or at the octave above or below it.
13. (music, intransitive, usually followed by "on") To be capable of performing (upon an additional instrument).
14. (bridge) To make a call that will double certain scoring points if the preceding bid becomes the contract.
15. (card games, intransitive) To double down.
16. (billiards, snooker, pool) To cause (a ball) to rebound from a cushion before entering the pocket.
17. (intransitive) (followed by for) To act as substitute.
18. (intransitive) To go or march at twice the normal speed.
    • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 47

      "You double down to the harbour, my lad," said the Captain to Strickland, "and sign on. You've got your papers."

      Strickland set off at once, and that was the last Captain Nichols saw of him.

19. (transitive) To multiply the strength or effect of by two.

    Sorry, this store does not double coupons.

20. (military) To unite, as ranks or files, so as to form one from each two.
21. (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.

See also

• quadruple
• quintuple
• sextuple
• single
• triple

Anagrams

• Lobedu, bouled, dobule

Etymology

From Old French doble, from Latin duplus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dubl/

• Audio (France)

  (file)

Adjective

double (plural doubles)

1. double (all meanings)

   Il s'agit d'une phrase à double sens.

Noun

double m (plural doubles)

1. double (twice the number, amount, etc.)

   Je n'en avais pas assez, alors j'en acheté le double.

2. duplicate (an identical copy)
   • Faire un double de ses clés.
3. (baseball) double

Verb

double

1. first-person singular present indicative of doubler
2. third-person singular present indicative of doubler
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of doubler
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of doubler
5. second-person singular imperative of doubler

Further reading

• “double” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).