singlesided

Single-sided is an adjective used to describe objects, surfaces, or processes that have only one side or usable face. The term appears across multiple fields, with related but distinct meanings.

In manufacturing, publishing, and packaging, single-sided denotes products or workflows involving only one side. Examples include single-sided tape (adhesive on one side), single-sided printing (documents printed on one side only; duplex printing prints on both sides), and single-sided vinyl records (audio on one side, the other side blank). In electronics, a single-sided printed circuit board has copper traces on only one side of the substrate, as opposed to double-sided or multilayer boards.

In materials science, some surfaces are described as single-sided if there is a single continuous surface exposed; in practice this idea connects to orientation in topology rather than physical depth.

In geometry and topology, a surface can be single-sided if it has only one continuous surface. The Möbius strip is the classic example: non-orientable, with only one side and one boundary component. This contrasts with two-sided, orientable surfaces like the sphere, which have distinct inner and outer sides.

In calculus, one sometimes speaks of one-sided (or single-sided) limits, defined as limits approached from a single direction—left or right.

Spelling and usage: single-sided is the standard hyphenated form; one-sided is also common; singlesided without a hyphen is usually nonstandard.