single up
C1 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words
On a boat or ship, to pull in most of the ropes holding the ship to the dock until only one is left, ready to leave.
Literal meaning: To reduce to a single line — the physical action of going from multiple mooring ropes to one.
Meanings
1 C1 neutral
(Nautical) To reduce mooring lines from doubled or multiple lines to a single line per position, in preparation for leaving a dock.
"The captain ordered the crew to single up before they cast off from the pier."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Highly specialized nautical term. Used as a command aboard ships and large vessels before getting underway. Rarely encountered outside maritime contexts. The command 'Single up all lines!' means to reduce doubled or multiple lines to single lines.
Commonly used with
lines mooring lines dock harbor vessel ship
Forms
Base
single up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
singles up
he/she/it
Past simple
singled up
yesterday
Past participle
singled up
have + pp
-ing form
singling up
continuous
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