line

noun62

1. •
   a long, thin mark or path, straight or not, such as one made by a pen

   • The arrow descended in a curved line.
2. •
   An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.
3. •
   An edge of a graph.
4. •
   A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.
5. •
   The equator.
6. •
   One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.
7. •
   The goal line.

   • St Johnstone's Liam Craig had to clear off the line before Steven Anderson sent a looping header into his own net for the equaliser on 36 minutes. — 2011
8. •
   (informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.
9. •
   A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation.

   • The line forms on the right.
   • There is a line of houses.
10. •
    Ellipsis of line of battle.
11. •
    A small amount of text.
12. •
    A written or printed row of letters, words, numbers, or other text, especially a row of words extending across a page or column, or a blank in place of such text.

    • The answer to the comprehension question can be found in the third line of the accompanying text.
13. •
    A verse (in poetry).

    • Nay if you read this line, remember not, / The hand that writ it. — 1609
14. •
    The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, a telephone or internet cable between two points: a telephone or network connection.

    • I tried to make a call, but the line was dead.
    • Please speak up, the line is very faint.
15. •
    A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
16. •
    The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
17. •
    A conceptual division or distinction.

    • As he points out, "In a lot of these traditions, there's less of a line between art and craft." — 2026
18. •
    A procession, either physical or conceptual, which results from the application or effect of a given rationale or other controlling principles of belief, opinion, practice, or phenomenon.

    • In order to maintain a consistency in the defense, I will follow the line established by attorney Jacobs of allowing the prosecution to suggest motives, and then refuting them.
19. •
    Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.

    • He [Mackintosh] is uncommonly powerful in his own line; but it is not the line of a first-rate man. — 1823
20. •
    The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction.

    • Remember, your answers must match the party line.
21. •
    A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.; a railroad line, railway line, Elizabeth Line etc.

    • a line of stages
22. •
    A sentence of dialogue, especially in a play, movie, or the like.

    • He was perfecting his pickup lines for use at the bar.
    • "It is what it is" was one of his more annoying lines.
23. •
    Ellipsis of pick-up line.
24. •
    A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself.

    • How many buses does the line have?
    • The airline is in danger of bankruptcy.
25. •
    A rope, cord, string, thread, or cable, of any thickness.
26. •
    A clothesline.

    • We need to take the clothes off the line. The news reported a front is coming in from the east, and we can expect heavy rain and maybe hail.
27. •
    The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).
28. •
    A particular path taken by a vehicle when driving a bend or corner in the road.

    • "I guess it's like race cars - if you get the right line you can come out at top speed." — 2021
29. •
    Direction, path.
30. •
    A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
31. •
    A population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.
32. •
    A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
33. •
    A hose, tube, or pipe, of any size.
34. •
    a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.
35. •
    (informal) A vascular catheter.

    • patient had a line inserted
36. •
    A short letter, a written form of communication.

    • Drop me a line.
37. •
    A lie, exaggeration, or spin, especially one said to gain another's approval or prevent losing it.

    • Don't feed me a line!
38. •
    Proper relative position or adjustment (of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working).

    • the engine is in line / out of line
39. •
    (informal) A portion or serving of a powdery recreational drug, especially cocaine, formed into a line on a flat surface in preparation for snorting.

    • I watched him take a line of cocaine.
40. •
    A group of forwards that play together.
41. •
    A set of positions in a team which play in a similar position on the field; in a traditional team, consisting of three players and acting as one of six such sets in the team.
42. •
    A series of notes forming a certain part (such as the bass or melody) of a greater work.

    • Students and the instructor sing the harmony line while the instructor plays the melody line on the piano. — 2015
43. •
    The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.
44. •
    (slang) Information about or understanding of something. (Mostly restricted to the expressions get a line on, have a line on, and give a line on.)

    • Judy gave me a line on a lawyer who's supposed to be the best in the business.
45. •
    Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
46. •
    Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude

    • Withof estimates that the hair of the beard grows one line (French) in the course of a week, let us call it one line and a half (Engish); this would amount to six inches and a half yearly... — 1847
47. •
    One twelfth of an inch.

    • The cut is measured in thickness from a quarter of a line to a line and a half (a line is one-twelfth of an inch). — 1883
48. •
    One sixteenth of an inch.
49. •
    One fortieth of an inch.
50. •
    (historical) A tsarist-era Russian unit of measure, approximately equal to one tenth of an English inch, used especially when measuring the calibre of firearms.
51. •
    Ellipsis of agate line (one fourteenth of an inch).

    • Advertising rates, line contract, less than 500 agate lines, 12 cents per line; 1,000 to 2,000 lines, 7 cents; 5,000 to 10,000 lines, 5 cents. — 1912
52. •
    A group of people born in a certain year (liners).
53. •
    A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
54. •
    That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.

    • The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. — 1611
55. •
    The longer fiber(s) of flax.
56. •
    The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
57. •
    (slang) The batter's box.
58. •
    A number of shares taken by a jobber.
59. •
    (historical) A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
60. •
    (no longer used) A measuring line or cord.
61. •
    (no longer used) Flax, linen.
62. •
    (no longer used) Instruction; doctrine.

    • Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. — 1611

verb13

1. •
   To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.

   • to line troops
   • They lined up the books against the wall.
2. •
   To align (one or more switches) to direct a train onto a particular track.

   • The dispatcher lined the switches at Pickle interlocking for the freight turnout to clear the train into the passing track before the express arrived.
3. •
   To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.

   • The bird lines its nest with soft grass.
   • Paintings lined the walls of the cavernous dining room.
4. •
   To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.

   • to line works with soldiers
5. •
   To form a line along.
6. •
   To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.

   • because the charge amounteth mostly very high for any one man's purse, except lined beyond ordinary, to reach unto — 1602
7. •
   To mark with a line or lines; to cover with lines.

   • to line a copy book
8. •
   To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.

   • Jones lined to left in his last at-bat.
9. •
   (old-fashioned) To read or repeat line by line.

   • Slowly, painfully, the ten dollars was collected. The door was opened, and the gust of warm air revived us. Zeebo lined On Jordan’s Stormy Banks, and church was over. — 1960
10. •
    To measure.
11. •
    To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.
12. •
    (no longer used) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.

    • All the pictures fairest lined Are but black to Rosalind. — 1598
13. •
    (no longer used) To copulate with, to impregnate.

exclamation1

1. •
   Expresses that the speaker has forgotten their dialogue and needs to be prompted with it.

noun2

1. •
   A close quarters combat system, see LINE (combat system) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
2. •
   Acronym of long interspersed nuclear element, a type of retrotransposon in genomics.