line

A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.

(geometry) An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.

(geometry, informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.

A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.

(geography) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.

A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.

(geography, 'the line' or 'equinoctial line') The equator.

(music) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.

(cricket) The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).

The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).

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 October 1, Clive Lindsay, “Kilmarnock 1-2 St Johnstone”, in BBC Sport:

"I guess it's like race cars - if you get the right line you can come out at top speed."

2021 February 14, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 10, column 3:

(automotive) A particular path taken by a vehicle when driving a bend or corner in the road.

A particular path taken by a vehicle when driving a bend or corner in the road.

The arrow descended in a curved line.

A rope, cord, string, or thread, of any thickness.

a brake line

the main water line to the house

the line of sight

the line of vision

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.

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.

I tried to make a call, but the line was dead.

a dedicated line;  a shared line

Please speak up, the line is very faint.

The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, a telephone or internet cable between two points: a telephone or network connection.

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.

She feels guilty for pampering him, and salves her conscience by bossily ordering him to go and fetch the clothes from the line[.]

1985, Joan Morrison, Share House Blues, Boolarong Publications, page 26:

Drop me a line.

A letter, a written form of communication.

a line of stages

an express line

A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.

(especially military) A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.

Eden stretch'd her Line / From Auran Eastward to the Royal Towrs / Of great Seleucia,

1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, volume IV:

The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.

A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.

The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 44:13:

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 16:6:

That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.

A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.

Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).

get in line

The line forms on the right.

There is a line of houses.

A band of brothers gathering round me, made, / Although unarmed, a steadfast front[…]now the line / Of war extended, to our rallying cry / As myriads flocked in love and brotherhood to die.

1817, Percy Shelley, The Revolt of Islam:

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.

(military, nautical) Ellipsis of line of battle.

(military) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.

Students and the instructor sing the harmony line while the instructor plays the melody line on the piano.

2015, Mícheál Houlahan, Philip Tacka, Kodály in the Third Grade Classroom:

(music) A series of notes forming a certain part (such as the bass or melody) of a greater work.

A series of notes forming a certain part (such as the bass or melody) of a greater work.

A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.

The answer to the comprehension question can be found in the third line of the accompanying text.

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.

Nay if you read this line, remember not, / The hand that writ it.

A small amount of text. Specifically:
A verse (in poetry).

He was perfecting his pickup lines for use at the bar.

"It is what it is" was one of his more annoying lines.

Anyone who has worked with Littlewood will wince at the memory of going over single lines time and time again, each actor in turn speaking the line until the valid intonation, phasing and emphasis emerged.

2010, Alison Hodge, Actor training, page 138:

A sentence of dialogue, especially in a play, movie, or the like.

Don't feed me a line!

A lie or exaggeration, especially one told to gain another's approval or prevent losing it.

He [Mackintosh] is uncommonly powerful in his own line; but it is not the line of a first-rate man.

1823 April 27, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kean—Sir James Mackintosh—Sir H. Davy—Robert Smith [Robert Percy Smith?]—Canning—National Debt—Poor Laws”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC, page 25:

Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.

Remember, your answers must match the party line.

The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction.

Judy gave me a line on a lawyer who's supposed to be the best in the business.

She's got the best line on Hickey. Maybe she knows a way to put the heart back into him.

1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post:

(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.)

line of business, product line

How many buses does the line have?

The airline is in danger of bankruptcy.

Have nothing to do with snide goods; let it be known throughout the world that the farmers and dairymen, yea, and those engaged in other industries in the great State of Illinois, produce only the best of everything in their lines, and we will be the last to feel the effects of over-production.

1890, Illinois State Dairymen's Association, Annual Report (volume 16, page 21)

A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself.

(stock exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.

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:

(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.

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, Alfred Swaine Taylor, Thomas Stevenson, The principles and practice of medical jurisprudence:

In case any of the committee do not understand what is meant by a rate per line, I may say that buttons, being very small, are not measured by the foot or inch, but by the line, a line being one-fortieth of an inch. For example, that is a 27-line button[…].

1922, “Statement of James Turner, Representing Universal Button Fastening Co., Detriot, Mich.”, in Hearings Before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, page 5337:

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, Sir Erasmus Wilson, On Diseases of the Skin. Second edition:

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, Miscellaneous Series, numbers 7-11, page 25:

(historical) A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.

(baseball, slang, 1800s, with "the") The batter's box.

Thus, for example, in the line of Quarte, the direct thrust is parried by dropping the point under the adversary's blade and circling upwards, throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Tierce), and upon the direct thrust in the line of Tierce, by a similar action throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Quarte).

1861, George Chapman, Foil Practice, with a Review of the Art of Fencing, page 12:

(fencing) The position in which the fencers hold their swords.

The position in which the fencers hold their swords.

the engine is in line / out of line

(engineering) Proper relative position or adjustment (of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working).

I watched him take a line of cocaine.

(informal) A small path-shaped portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug, especially cocaine.

A small path-shaped portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug, especially cocaine.

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, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 19:4:

(genetics) A population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.

A population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.

(perfusion line) a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.

(ice hockey) A group of forwards that play together.

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

(Australian rules football) 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.

patient had a line inserted

line sepsis

(medicine, colloquial) A vascular catheter.

→ Scottish Gaelic: loidhne

lyn

path through two or more points, threadlike mark

lyn

geometry: infinite one-dimensional figure

отсе́чка

geometry: continuous finite segment of such a figure

meridiaan

geography: circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map

regel

music: one of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed

maatband

long tape, or a narrow ribbon of steel, etc., marked with subdivisions, as feet and inches, for measuring; a tapeline

lyn

cricket: horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman

verbinding

connected series of public conveyances, and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.

kontoer

exterior limit of a figure, plat, or territory; boundary; contour; outline

partizione

bible: that which was measured by a line, as a field or any piece of land set apart

lyn

threadlike crease marking the face or the hand; hence, characteristic mark — see also wrinkle

lyn

series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person

lyn

single horizontal row of text on a screen, printed paper, etc.

lyn

sentence of dialogue, especially in a script or screenplay

visie

course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy

курс

official, stated position of an individual or political faction

produklyn

products or services sold by a business, or the business itself

mstari

stock exchange: number of shares taken by a jobber

linja

measure of length, the main division of an inch or its local equivalent

mstari

fencing: position in which the fencers hold their swords

uitlijning

engineering: proper relative position or adjustment of parts

linja

population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne (“line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”).
Influenced in Middle English by Middle French ligne (“line”), from Latin linea. More at linen.
The oldest sense of the word is “rope, cord, thread”; from this the senses “path”, “continuous mark” were derived.

inh

line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction

Old English līne (“line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction”)

Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”)


line

to line troops

They lined up the books against the wall.

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

to line works with soldiers

Line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant.

1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, ii 4:

(transitive) To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.

to line a copy book

(transitive) To mark with a line or lines; to cover with lines.

The dispatcher lined the switches at Pickle interlocking for the freight turnout to clear the train into the passing track before the express arrived.

(rail transport) To align (one or more switches) to direct a train onto a particular track.

All the pictures fairest lined Are but black to Rosalind.

1598, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, iii 2:

(transitive, obsolete) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.

to line out a hymn

(transitive, dated, now more often line out) To read or repeat line by line.

Jones lined to left in his last at-bat.

(intransitive, baseball) To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.

(transitive) To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.

en-verb

line (third-person singular simple present lines, present participle lining, simple past and past participle lined)

lines (present singular third-person)
lining (participle present)
lined (participle past)
lined (past)

подреждам

to place persons or things along the side of for security or defense

tekenen

obsolete: to represent by lines; delineate; portray


line

maknae line; hyung line; 97 line

(South Korean idol fandom) A group of people born in a certain year (liners).

Borrowed from Korean 라인 (rain, “members with a shared characteristic”), itself from English line. Likely generalized via hyung line, maknae line, etc.


line

(obsolete) Flax; linen, particularly the longer fiber of flax.

lijn

obsolete: flax, linen — see also flax, linen

From Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”). For more information, see the entry linen.


line

The bird lines its nest with soft grass.

to line a cloak with silk or fur

to line a box with paper or tin

paintings lined the walls of the cavernous dining room

(transitive) To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.

to line the shelves

because the charge amounteth mostly very high for any one man's purse, except lined beyond ordinary, to reach unto

1602, Richard Carew, edited by Thomas Tonkin, Carew's Survey of Cornwall, published 1811, page 34:

(transitive) To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.

vullen

to fill or supply, as a purse with money


line

(transitive, now rare, of a dog) To copulate with, to impregnate.


line

second-person singular present active imperative of linō


line

(figurative) rule, direction, command, edict

line, straight mark; also a fictitious line

English: line

From Old English līne, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ. Some forms and meanings are from Old French ligne.


line

a line (a continuous mark through two or more points; a succession of ancestors or descendants; the stated position of an individual or group)

lina (definite singular)
liner (indefinite plural)
linene (definite plural)


line

a line (a strong rope, cord, string, wire)


line

late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies
Wāst þū nū þæt þū leornodest on eorþcræfte be ānre līnan āwritenre andlang middes ānes þōðres?

Do you remember what you learned in geometry about a line drawn along the middle of a ball?

līne (canonical feminine)
līne (nominative singular)
līnan (nominative plural)
līnan (accusative singular)
līnan (accusative plural)
līnan (genitive singular)
līnena (genitive plural)
līnan (dative singular)
līnum (dative plural)

desctree

Middle English: lyne, lyn, line, lin, lynye, lyny
English: line, linseed (in compound with seed)
Yola: leen

From Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”). Akin to Old High German līna (“line”) (German Leine (“rope”)), Middle Dutch līne (“rope, cord”) (Dutch lijn (“rope”)), Old Norse līna (“cord, rope”) (Danish line (“rope, cord”)), Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”).


line

you, you all; second-person plural absolute pronoun.