English
line
see also: Line, LINE
Pronunciation Noun

line (plural lines)

  1. A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
    The arrow descended in a curved line.
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 731476803 ↗:
      So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
    1. (geometry) An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.
      Synonyms: straight line
    2. (geometry, informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.
      Synonyms: line segment
    3. (graph theory) An edge of a graph.
    4. (geography) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.
    5. (geography, ‘the line’ or ‘equinoctial line’) The equator.
    6. (music) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.
    7. (cricket) The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).
    8. (soccer) The goal line.
  2. A rope, cord, string, or thread, of any thickness.
  3. A hose or pipe, of any size.
    a brake line
    the main water line to the house
    • 1973, Final Environmental Statement for the Geothermal Leasing Program (US department of the interior):
      There is the possible hazard of an oil spill in case the line breaks but normal pipeline maintenance and safety measures, etc., are designed to prevent large or long continued spillage.
    • 1981 October, Popular Science, volume 219, number 4, page 113:
      To the end of the metal fuel line (where it fits into the carb) you attach a four-foot length of flexible fuel line.
  4. Direction, path.
    the line of sight
    the line of vision
  5. 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.
    a dedicated line;  a shared line
    Please speak up, the line is very faint.
  6. A clothesline.
  7. A letter, a written form of communication.
    Synonyms: epistle, letter, note
    Drop me a line.
  8. A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.
    a line of stages
    an express line
  9. (military) A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
  10. The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
  11. A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
  12. (obsolete) A measuring line or cord.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Isaiah 44:13 ↗:
      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.
  13. That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Psalms 16:6 ↗:
      The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
  14. A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
  15. Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
  16. 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. [from mid-16thc.]
    Synonyms: lineup, queue
    The line forms on the right.
    There is a line of houses.
  17. (military) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery etc.
  18. A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Psalms 19:4 ↗:
      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.
  19. A small amount of text. Specifically:
    1. 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.
      Synonyms: row
      The answer to the comprehension question can be found in the third line of the accompanying text.
    2. A verse (in poetry).
    3. A sentence of dialogue, especially [from the later 19thc.] 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 his more annoying lines.
    4. A lie or exaggeration, especially one told to gain another's approval or prevent losing it.
      Don't feed me a line!
  20. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity. [from earlier 17thc.]
  21. The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction. [from later 19thc.]
    Remember, your answers must match the party line.
  22. A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself. [from earlier 19thc.]
    line of business, product line
    How many buses does the line have?
    The airline is in danger of bankruptcy.
  23. (stock exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.
  24. A measure of length:
    1. (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.
    2. One twelfth of an inch.
    3. One fortieth of an inch.
  25. (historical) A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
  26. (baseball, slang, 1800s, with "the") The batter’s box.
  27. (fencing, ‘line of engagement’) The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
  28. (engineering) 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
  29. A small portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug.
  30. (obsolete) Instruction; doctrine.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Psalms 19:4 ↗:
      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.
  31. (genetics) Population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.
  32. (perfusion line) a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.
  33. (ice hockey) A group of forwards that play together.
  34. (medicine, colloquial) A vascular catheter.
    patient had a line inserted
    line sepsis
Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: caminho
  • Russian: направле́ние
Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Russian: ли́ния
Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Italian: lineamento, caratteri somatici, tratti somatici
  • Russian: черта́
Translations Translations
  • Italian: fanteria d'assalto, reggimento
  • Russian: линейный
Translations Translations Translations
  • German: Zeile
  • Italian: verso
  • Russian: строфа́
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: Line
  • Russian: доро́жка
Translations Translations Verb

line (lines, present participle lining; past and past participle lined)

  1. (transitive) To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.
    to line troops
  2. (transitive) To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.
    to line works with soldiers
  3. (transitive) To form a line along.
  4. (transitive) To mark with a line or lines, to cover with lines.
    to line a copy book
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
  6. (transitive) To read or repeat line by line.
    to line out a hymn
    • 1897, Daniel Webster Davis, “De Linin’ ub de Hymns”, quoted in Jerma A. Jackson, “Exuberance or Restraint: Music and Religion after Reconstruction”, in Singing in My Soul: Black Gospel Music in a Secular Age, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8078-2860-1, page 15:
      De young folks say ’tain’t stylish to lin’ ’um no mo’; / Dat deys got edikashun, an’ dey wants us all to know / Dey like to hab dar singin’-books a-holin’ fore dar eyes, / An’ sing de hymns right straight along “to manshuns in de skies”.
  7. (intransitive, baseball) 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.
  8. (transitive) To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.
  9. (transitive) To measure.
Translations Translations
  • Russian: выстра́ивать
Translations Translations Noun

line (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete) Flax; linen, particularly the longer fiber of flax.
    • , Quart. Sess. Rec. in N. R. Rec. Soc. VIII. 52
      To spin 2 lb. of line.
    • 1837, Everett, S. Hick 195:
      Which proved fatal to the line or flax crops.
    • 1858, Journal of the Statistical Society of London, page 409:
      1641.—14 yards of femble cloth, 12s. ; 8 yards of linen, 6s. 8d. ; 20 yards of harden, 10s. ; 5 linen sheets, 1l. ; 7 linen pillow bears, 8s. ; 2 femble sheets and a line hard sheet, 10s. ; 3 linen towels, 4s. ; 6 lin curtains and a vallance, 12s. ; […]
    • 1869, Dixon, Borrowdale, 2:
      T'burring o' t'woo' an' line wheels,
Verb

line (lines, present participle lining; past and past participle lined)

  1. (transitive) To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.
    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
  2. To reinforce (the back of a book) with glue and glued scrap material such as fabric or paper.
  3. (transitive) To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.
    to line the shelves
Translations Verb

line (lines, present participle lining; past and past participle lined)

  1. (transitive, now, rare, of a dog) To copulate with, to impregnate.
    • 1868 September, The Country Gentleman's Magazine, page 292:
      Bedlamite was a black dog, and although it may be safely asserted that he lined upwards of 100 bitches of all colours, red, white, and blue, all his produce were black.
Translations
Line
Proper noun
  1. Surname
LINE
Noun

line (plural lines)

  1. (genetics) Acronym of w:long interspersed nuclear element a type of retrotransposon in genomics.
  2. A close quarters combat system, see pedialite LINE (combat system)


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