Definition

Noun: 1. (often used in combinations) Something constructed with multiple levels or layers. * This meaning is almost exclusively used in combination with a number or descriptive word (e.g., double-, triple-, single-) to specify the quantity of levels. 2. (Proper noun, historical) English dramatist and pamphleteer (1572-1632). * This refers specifically to Thomas Dekker, an English Elizabethan playwright and writer.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Combined Form):
  • The tourists boarded a famous red double-decker bus. (A bus with two passenger levels.)
  • He made a massive triple-decker sandwich for lunch. (A sandwich with three layers of bread and filling.)
  • The children built a single-decker fort out of blankets. (A fort with one level.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is highly productive in combination. You can create non-standard combinations like "a six-decker burger" to humorously or emphatically describe something with many layers.
• In card games, "double-decker" can informally describe a pile of cards formed from two combined decks.

Variants and Related Words

• -decker: A suffix used to form nouns describing things with a specified number of levels (e.g., double-decker, triple-decker).
• Deck (noun): A platform or floor, especially on a ship or bus, which forms one of the levels in a "decker."
• Deck (verb): To decorate or adorn, which is etymologically related but has a distinct modern meaning.

Synonyms

• Tiered: Arranged in tiers or layers. (e.g., a tiered cake).
• Multi-level: Having several floors or layers.
• (For bus specifically): Omnibus (archaic), coach.

Related Phrases

• Double-decker: The most common combination, often referring to a bus with two passenger decks.
• Triple-decker: Commonly used for sandwiches or ice cream cones with three distinct layers.
• Single-decker: Typically used for buses with only one passenger level, to distinguish them from double-deckers.

Noun

1. (often used in combinations) something constructed with multiple levels
   • they rode in a double-decker bus
2. English dramatist and pamphleteer (1572-1632)