line

line¹

noun

1》 a long, narrow mark or band.

    ↘Mathematics a straight or curved continuous extent of length without breadth.

    ↘a wrinkle in the skin.

    ↘a contour or outline as a feature of design.

    ↘a curve connecting all points having a common property on a map or graph.

    ↘[as modifier] Printing & Computing denoting an image consisting of lines and solid areas, with no gradation of tone.

    ↘informal a dose of cocaine laid out in a line ready to be taken.

    ↘each of (usually five) horizontal lines forming a stave in musical notation.

2》 a length of cord, wire, etc. serving a purpose.

    ↘a telephone connection.

    ↘a railway track or route.

    ↘a company providing transport on particular routes: a shipping line.

3》 a row of written or printed words.

    ↘(lines) the words of an actor's participle

    ↘(lines) Brit. a number of repetitions of a sentence written out as a school punishment.

4》 a row or connected series of people or things.

    ↘N. Amer. a queue.

    ↘a range of commercial goods.

    ↘a sequence of notes or tones forming a melody.

5》 a notional limit or boundary.

    ↘the starting or finishing point in a race.

    ↘(the Line) the equator.

6》 a sphere of activity.

    ↘a direction, course, or channel.

    ↘(lines) a way of doing something: thinking along the same lines.

    ↘a policy.

7》 a connected series of military defences facing an enemy force.

    ↘(also line of battle) a disposition of troops for action in battle.

    ↘(the line) regular army regiments.

8》 informal a remark intended to achieve a purpose: a cheesy chat-up line.

9》 Physics a narrow range of the spectrum that is noticeably brighter or darker than the adjacent parts.

verb

1》 stand or be positioned at intervals along.

2》 (line someone/thing up) arrange people or things in a row.

3》 (line someone/thing up) have someone or something prepared.

4》 [usu. as adjective lined] mark or cover with lines.

5》 (line out) Baseball be caught out after hitting a line drive.

Phrases

above (or below) the line Finance denoting or relating to money spent on items of current (or capital) expenditure.

come (or bring) into line conform (or cause to conform).

the end of the line the point at which one can go no further.

get a line on informal learn something about.

in line under control.

in line for likely to receive.

in the line of duty while one is working (used mainly of the police or the armed forces).

in (or out of) line with in (or not in) alignment or accordance with.

lay (or put) it on the line speak frankly.

line of communications the connections between an army in the field and its bases.

line of credit an amount of credit extended to a borrower.

line of fire the expected path of gunfire or a missile.

line of force an imaginary line representing the strength and direction of a magnetic, gravitational, or electric field at any point.

line of march the route taken in marching.

line of scrimmage American Football the imaginary line separating the teams at the beginning of a play.

line of sight a straight line along which an observer has unobstructed vision.

line of vision the straight line along which an observer looks.

on the line at serious risk.

out of line informal behaving inappropriately or incorrectly.

Origin

OE līne 'rope, series', prob. of Gmc origin, from L. linea (fibra) 'flax (fibre)', from L. linum 'flax', reinforced in ME by OFr. ligne, based on L. linea.

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line²

verb cover the inner surface of (something) with a layer of different material.

↘form a layer on the inner surface of: hundreds of telegrams lined the walls.

Phrases

line one's pocket make money, especially dishonestly.

Origin

ME: from obs. line 'flax', with ref. to the use of linen for linings.