noun 1. a narrow continuous mark, as one made by a pencil, pen, or brush across a surface
2. such a mark cut into or raised from a surface
3. a thin indented mark or wrinkle
4. a straight or curved continuous trace having no breadth that is produced by a moving point
5. (
maths)
- any straight one-dimensional geometrical element whose identity is determined by two points. A line segment lies between any two points on a line
- a set of points (x, y) that satisfies the equation y = mx + c, where m is the gradient and c is the intercept with the y-axis
6. a border or boundary: the county line
7. (
sport)
- a white or coloured band indicating a boundary or division on a field, track, etc
- a mark or imaginary mark at which a race begins or ends
8. (
American football)
- See line of scrimmage
- the players arranged in a row on either side of the line of scrimmage at the start of each play
9. a specified point of change or limit: the dividing line between sanity and madness
10. - the edge or contour of a shape, as in sculpture or architecture, or a mark on a painting, drawing, etc, defining or suggesting this
- the sum or type of such contours or marks, characteristic of a style or design: the line of a draughtsman, the line of a building
11. anything long, flexible, and thin, such as a wire or string: a washing line, a fishing line
12. a telephone connection: a direct line to New York
13. - a conducting wire, cable, or circuit for making connections between pieces of electrical apparatus, such as a cable for electric-power transmission, telecommunications, etc
- (as modifier): the line voltage
14. a system of travel or transportation, esp over agreed routes: a shipping line
15. a company operating such a system
16. a route between two points on a railway
17. (
mainly Brit)
- a railway track, including the roadbed, sleepers, etc
- one of the rails of such a track
18. (NZ) a roadway usually in a rural area
19. a course or direction of movement or advance: the line of flight of a bullet
20. a course or method of action, behaviour, etc: take a new line with him
21. a policy or prescribed course of action or way of thinking (often in the phrases bring or come into line)
22. a field of study, interest, occupation, trade, or profession: this book is in your line
23. alignment; true (esp in the phrases in line, out of line)
24. one kind of product or article: a nice line in hats
25. (NZ) a collection of bales of wool all of the one type
26. a row of persons or things: a line of cakes on the conveyor belt
27. a chronological or ancestral series, esp of people: a line of prime ministers
28. a row of words printed or written across a page or column
29. a unit of verse consisting of the number of feet appropriate to the metre being used and written or printed with the words in a single row
30. a short letter; note: just a line to say thank you
31. a piece of useful information or hint about something: give me a line on his work
32. one of a number of narrow horizontal bands forming a television picture
33. (physics) a narrow band in an electromagnetic spectrum, resulting from a transition in an atom, ion, or molecule of a gas or plasma
34. (
music)
- any of the five horizontal marks that make up the stave Compare space (sense 10)
- the musical part or melody notated on one such set
- a discernible shape formed by sequences of notes or musical sounds: a meandering melodic line
- (in polyphonic music) a set of staves that are held together with a bracket or brace
35. a unit of magnetic flux equal to 1 maxwell
36. a defensive or fortified position, esp one that marks the most forward position in war or a national boundary: the front line
37. line ahead, line abreast, a formation adopted by a naval unit for manoeuvring
38. a formation adopted by a body or a number of military units when drawn up abreast
39. the combatant forces of certain armies and navies, excluding supporting arms
40. (fencing) one of four divisions of the target on a fencer's body, considered as areas to which specific attacks are made
41. the scent left by a fox
42. - the equator (esp in the phrase crossing the line)
- any circle or arc on the terrestrial or celestial sphere
43. the amount of insurance written by an underwriter for a particular risk
44. (US & Canadian) a line of people, vehicles, etc, waiting for something Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) queue
45. (slang) a portion of a powdered drug for snorting
46. (slang) something said for effect, esp to solicit for money, sex, etc: he gave me his usual line
47. above the line - (accounting) denoting entries above a horizontal line on a profit and loss account, separating those that establish the profit or loss from those that show how the profit is distributed
- denoting revenue transactions rather than capital transactions in a nation's accounts
- (marketing) expenditure on media advertising through an agency, rather than internally arranged advertising, such as direct mail, free samples, etc
- (bridge) denoting bonus points, marked above the horizontal line on the score card
48. below the line - (accounting) denoting entries below a horizontal line on a profit and loss account, separating those that establish the profit or loss from those that show how the profit is distributed
- denoting capital transactions rather than revenue transactions in a nation's accounts
- (marketing) denoting expenditure on advertising by other means than the traditional media, such as the provision of free gifts, special displays, direct mailshots, etc
- (bridge) denoting points scored towards game and rubber, marked below the horizontal line on the score card
49. all along the line - at every stage in a series
- in every detail
50. (Irish & Austral, informal) do a line, to associate (with a person of the opposite sex) regularly; go out (with): he is doing a line with her
51. draw the line, to reasonably object (to) or set a limit (on): her father draws the line at her coming in after midnight
52. (informal) get a line on, to obtain information about
53. hold the line - to keep a telephone line open
- (football) to prevent the opponents from taking the ball forward
- (of soldiers) to keep formation, as when under fire
54. in line for, in the running for; a candidate for: he's in line for a directorship
55. in line with, conforming to
56. in the line of duty, as a necessary and usually undesired part of the performance of one's responsibilities
57. lay on the line, put on the line - to pay money
- to speak frankly and directly
- to risk (one's career, reputation, etc) on something
58. (informal) shoot a line, to try to create a false image, as by boasting or exaggerating
59. step out of line, to fail to conform to expected standards, attitudes, etc
60. toe the line, to conform to expected standards, attitudes, etc