double

A2 Topic:Numbers & Quantity

US /ˈdʌbəl/ UK /ˈdʌb.əl/ See IPA manual

Freq #1281

Meanings

1

adj
Twice as much, as many, or as big.

He ate a double portion of pasta.
2

adj
Made for or used by two people.

They booked a double room at the hotel.
3

adj
Having two parts or two of something, usually as a pair.

The car has double doors at the back.
4

adv
Bent over so the upper body is folded forward.

He was bent double with laughter.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · twice as much, as many, or... doubledtwofold

3 adj · having two parts or two of... dual

More duplicate twice twin

Opposites

bisect half halve

Word family

Forms doubleddoublenessdoublesdoubling

Derived forms a-double-sb-doubleback-doublebidoubledoublabledouble-adouble-actingdouble-actiondouble-baggerdouble-bankdouble-bankeddouble-barrel

Related forms centuplecentupletcouple decaddecetdecuple decuplet doublet duoduodecupleduodecupletdyad

Appears in

Phrases (12)

See all

double bed
a bed wide enough to sleep two people comfortably

Adjective + noun
double-decker bus
a bus with two passenger floors

Adjective + noun
double room
a hotel room with a bed large enough for two people

Adjective + noun
double dare
A challenge that intensifies an original dare by daring someone twice as boldly

Adjective + noun
double agent
a spy who secretly works for two opposing sides simultaneously

Adjective + noun
double bassoon
a large bassoon that plays below the ordinary bassoon range

Adjective + noun

Idioms (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Double, recorded from Middle English, comes ultimately from the ancient root for “two,” represented by Latin and Greek duo. Its history is therefore related to English two and to words such as duo and duplicate.

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

*pel- (fold) Proto-Indo-European double Middle English doble Old French duplus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Numbers & Quantity

External links

# double

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj, adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈdʌbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdʌb.əl/
**Frequency rank:** 1281

## Meanings
1. Twice as much, as many, or as big.
2. Made for or used by two people.
3. Having two parts or two of something, usually as a pair.
4. Bent over so the upper body is folded forward.

## Examples
- He ate a double portion of pasta.
- They booked a double room at the hotel.
- The car has double doors at the back.
- He was bent double with laughter.

## Synonyms
- dual
- duplicate
- twice
- twin
- twofold

## Antonyms
- bisect
- half
- halve

## Derived Forms
- a-double-s
- b-double
- back-double
- bidouble
- doublable
- double-a
- double-acting
- double-action
- double-bagger
- double-bank
- double-banked
- double-barrel

## Related Forms
- centuple
- centuplet
- couple
- decad
- decet
- decuple
- decuplet
- doublet
- duo
- duodecuple
- duodecuplet
- dyad

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pel- (fold)
- Root: double
- Root: doble
- Root: duplus

## Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

## AI Etymology
Double comes from Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple. In current use, the main senses are “Twice as much, as many, or as big” and “Made for or used by two people”. Its deeper ancestry includes Proto-Indo-European *pel- (fold).

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity

markdown