From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdoubledoub‧le1 /ˈdʌbəl/ ●●● S1 W2 adjective [usually before noun] 1 of two partsTWO consisting of two parts that are similar or exactly the same a double sink a double wardrobe the great double doors of the cathedral Don’t park your car on double yellow lines.2 two different usesTWO combining or involving two things of the same type a double murder case A lot of the jokes were based on double meaning.3 twice as bigINCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT twice as big, twice as much, or twice as many as usual a double whisky The city was enclosed by walls of double thickness.4 for two peopleTWO made for two people or things to use → single Do you need a double bed or two singles? a double room a double garage5 TWOtwo letters/numbers British English spoken used to say that a particular letter or number is repeated My name’s Robbins with a double ‘b’. The number is 869 double 2 (=86922).6 flowerHBP a double flower has more than the usual number of petals → doubly
Examples from the Corpus
double• The band has just released a new double album.• The room contained a double bed, a wardrobe, and a small chest of drawers.• Last year she suffered the double blow of losing her father and discovering that she had cancer.• A double brandy, please.• a double cheeseburger• These classes are taught over a double class period by one teacher.• I pushed the double doors open and walked into the office.• Johnson had not scored in double figures in the first five games.• The house had a double garage which Millar turned into a study and office.• Before talking about the types of window you can choose, let's look briefly at the question of double glazing.• Leave the dough in a warm place to rise until it is double in bulk.• She's doing a double major in political science and economics.• He helped her in a two-year battle against cancer and to come to terms with her double mastectomy.• Mortensen had a double motive for going to San Francisco: to see his kids and to apply for a job.• It hopes its own order book is solid but knows that double ordering is going on in the sector.• The report and photographs fitted nicely onto a double page.• During this time the best double petunias were named varieties raised from cuttings.• I ordered fish and a double portion of chips.• Double rooms cost $80, single rooms are $50.• President Clinton's nomination represents a double snub say critics.• She drove over the double yellow line and crashed head-on into a truck.• You cannot park on double yellow lines.double meaning• Civilization, in fact, has at least a double meaning.• Old rivalries are barely submerged and every quip has a deadly double meaning.• No, there was no double meaning in what he'd said.• Or perhaps she was merely responding to the possible double meaning of his last sentence.• Sniggers and the double meanings surrounded the subject which was one of the biggest taboos in our society.• This gives a double meaning to Blanche's hatred of naked light.doubledouble2 ●●● S3 W3 noun 1 twice the size [countable, uncountable]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT something that is twice as big, as much etc as usual or as something else Scotch and water, please – make it a double. ‘They offered me £10,000.’ ‘I’ll give you double.’2 room [countable] a room for two people in a hotel → single A double costs $95 a night.3 → doubles4 baseball [countable]DSB a hit in baseball which allows the batter to reach second base Walker led the inning with a double.5 → somebody’s double6 in films [countable]AMF an actor who takes the place of a more famous actor in a film, especially because the acting involves doing something dangerous I think they used a double in the shower scene.7 → at the double8 → double or quitsExamples from the Corpus
double• Double success at Engineering Two awards in quick succession have earned Courtaulds Engineering a gratifying safety double.• Goodrich worked as a double for John Wayne.• Rooms cost $95 for a double.• Had the ball landed, Johnson had a double or perhaps his fifth triple.• Hrbek led the inning with a double.• Three whiskeys, please - two singles and one double.• Caroline is virtually her mother's double.• a stunt double• Southern League Champions, Oxford are after the double.• If you roll two doubles for distance then the horses collapse with exhaustion and the model is removed from the battle.doubledouble3 ●●● S3 verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT to become twice as big or twice as much, or to make something twice as big or twice as muchdouble in size/number/value etc Within two years the company had doubled in size. The church has doubled its membership in the last five years.double the size/number/amount etc (of something) A promise was given to double the number of police on duty.► see thesaurus at increase2 [transitive] (also double over/up)FOLD to fold something in half Take a sheet of paper and double it over.3 [intransitive]DSB to hit the ball far enough to get to second base in a game of baseball → double as somebody/something → double back → double up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
double• The mess deck doubles as the movie lounge, with a video library housing thousands of films.• The bass may however, always be doubled at the octave below if desired.• Welfare spending will nearly double by the year 2002.• The number of female bank managers doubled from 104 to 208.• In those thirty years, San Francisco doubled in size.• Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it has roughly doubled in size.• In all the nine studies of monitoring, the number of cesarean deliveries was doubled in the group that was monitored.• The federal government has doubled its tax on liquor.• Building costs have doubled since then.• In Leicester youth court, the influx of 17-year-olds has doubled the number of juvenile offenders coming before magistrates.• Quarterly losses at Freeserve, Britain's biggest internet service provider, doubled to nearly $ 27m.• Cleverly used it will double, treble, even quadruple the size.• So the thought of watching a film in which he doubles, triples and quadruples was frankly a most scary prospect.• Ralph doubled up his blankets and put them at the foot of the bed.double the size/number/amount etc (of something)• According to a recent survey, one in four new borrowers takes out unemployment insurance, double the number of three years ago.• Her only other suggestion was to double the amount of vanilla, to give it a flavor boost.• In one facetious article he promised to show the government how to double the number of jobs in the railroad industry.• It was the custom then to double the size of most infantry battalions and of many gunner and other units.• Since February buyers have taken up 1.5m bales, double the amount in the same period last year.• Telephone-answering machines, intended to make phoning more efficient, double the number of phone calls made.• The way to outvote them was to double the number of people who held to the old ways.• We will double the number of Safer Cities Schemes to cover 40 urban areas.doubledouble4 ●●○ adverb → be bent doubleExamples from the Corpus
double• As Kasparov knows full well, the years count double once a chess player passes 35.doubledouble5 ●●○ predeterminer INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNTtwice as big, twice as much, or twice as manydouble the amount/number/size etc We’ll need double this amount for eight people. The value of the house is double what it was.Examples from the Corpus
double• The house is now worth double the amount we paid for it.• Over 30% of marriages end in divorce, which is double the number 20 years ago.double the amount/number/size etc• It has just about doubled the amount of candidates.• Telephone-answering machines, intended to make phoning more efficient, double the number of phone calls made.• It specialises in motor insurance and has doubled the number of policies it sells each year as well as moving into household insurance.• We will double the number of Safer Cities Schemes to cover 40 urban areas.• Her only other suggestion was to double the amount of vanilla, to give it a flavor boost.• It will double the number of vehicles that will come into King's Cross or St. Pancras during the morning peak hours.• This roughly doubles the number of young from a spawning.From Longman Business Dictionarydoubledoub‧le1 /ˈdʌbəl/ adjective twice as big, twice as much, or twice as many as usual, or twice as big, much, or many as something elseThe number of men receiving professional degrees today is still nearly double that of women.doubledouble2 noun [countable, uncountable] something that is nearly twice the size, quantity, value, or strength of something else‘What did they offer you?’ ‘Ten thousand.’ ‘I’ll give you double.’doubledouble3 verb [intransitive, transitive] to become twice as much or as many, or to make something twice as bigThe costs of providing medical insurance for employees has doubled in recent years.GE plans to more than double the size of its railcar leasing operation.→ See Verb tableOrigin double1 (1100-1200) Old French Latin duplus, from duo “two” + -plus “multiplied by” 