line

noun

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.

(graph theory) An edge of a graph.

(geography) 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).

(soccer) The goal line.

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

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

A hose or pipe, of any size.

Direction, path.

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.

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

A clothesline.

A letter, a written form of communication.

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.

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

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.

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).

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

(music) 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.

A small amount of text. Specifically:

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.

A verse (in poetry).

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

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

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

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

(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.)

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:

One twelfth of an inch.

One sixteenth of an inch.

One fortieth of an inch.

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

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

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

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

(genetics) 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) 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.

(medicine, colloquial) A vascular catheter.

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

The longer fiber(s) of flax.

An English and Scottish surname.

A close quarters combat system, see LINE (combat system) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

(advertising) Ellipsis of agate line (one fourteenth of an inch). [A unit of advertising space that is one column wide and one agate (one fourteenth of an inch) deep.]

(military, nautical) Ellipsis of line of battle. [(military) The position of troops drawn up in their usual order without any determined maneuver.]

(genetics) Acronym of long interspersed nuclear element, a type of retrotransposon in genomics.

(obsolete) A measuring line or cord.

(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.

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

(obsolete) Instruction; doctrine.

(obsolete) Flax, linen.

verb

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

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

(transitive) To form a line along.

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

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

(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.

(transitive) To measure.

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

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

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

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

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

Roots

linealine- · Latin · line, thread

Synonyms for line

demarcationn lineagen bloodlinen hexastich creasen separatrixn delineatev interline boundaryn heptastich seamn cablen

Synonyms & related words for line

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of line — including demarcation, lineage, bloodline, hexastich, crease, separatrix. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to line

Explore words related to line — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include lineolate, reline, overline, linefeed, trilinear, linemen, lineate, stichometry. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for line

Common synonyms for line include demarcation, lineage, bloodline, hexastich, crease, separatrix, delineate, interline — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does line come from?

The word line breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root line-, from Latin linea (“line, thread”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.