noun, verb, lined, lin⋅ing.| 1. | a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface: a line down the middle of the page. |
| 2. | Mathematics. a continuous extent of length, straight or curved, without breadth or thickness; the trace of a moving point. |
| 3. | something arranged along a line, esp. a straight line; a row or series: a line of trees. |
| 4. | a number of persons standing one behind the other and waiting their turns at or for something; queue. |
| 5. | something resembling a traced line, as a band of color, a seam, or a furrow: lines of stratification in rock. |
| 6. | a furrow or wrinkle on the face, neck, etc.: lines around the eyes. |
| 7. | an indication of demarcation; boundary; limit: the county line; a fine line between right and wrong. |
| 8. | a row of written or printed letters, words, etc.: a page of 30 lines. |
| 9. | a verse of poetry: A line in iambic pentameter contains five feet. |
| 10. | Usually, lines. the words of an actor's part in a drama, musical comedy, etc.: to rehearse one's lines. |
| 11. | a short written message: Drop me a line when you're on vacation. |
| 12. | a system of public conveyances, as buses or trains, plying regularly over a fixed route: the northbound line at State Street. |
| 13. | a transportation or conveyance company: a steamship line. |
| 14. | a course of direction; route: the line of march down Main Street. |
| 15. | a course of action, procedure, thought, policy, etc.: That newspaper follows the communist line. |
| 16. | a piece of pertinent or useful information (usually fol. by on): I've got a line on a good used car. |
| 17. | a series of generations of persons, animals, or plants descended from a common ancestor: a line of kings. |
| 18. | a department of activity; occupation or business: What line are you in? |
| 19. | Informal. a mode of conversation, esp. one that is glib or exaggerated in order to impress or influence another person: He really handed her a line about his rich relatives. |
| 20. | a straight line drawn from an observed object to the fovea of the eye. |
| 21. | lines,
|
| 22. | a circle of the terrestrial or celestial sphere: the equinoctial line. |
| 23. | banner (def. 7). |
| 24. | Fine Arts.
|
| 25. | Television. one scanning line. |
| 26. | Telecommunications.
|
| 27. | the line, Geography. the equator. |
| 28. | a stock of commercial goods of the same general class but having a range of styles, sizes, prices, or quality: the company's line of shoes. |
| 29. | an assembly line. |
| 30. | Law. a limit defining one estate from another; the outline or boundary of a piece of real estate. |
| 31. | Bridge. a line on a score sheet that separates points scored toward game (below the line) from points scored by setting a contract, having honors, etc. (above the line). |
| 32. | Music. any of the straight, horizontal, parallel strokes of the staff, or one placed above or below the staff. |
| 33. | Military.
|
| 34. | an arrangement of troops of an army or of ships of a fleet as drawn up for battle: line of battle. |
| 35. | a body or formation of troops or ships drawn up abreast (distinguished from column ). |
| 36. | the class of officers serving with combatant units or warships. |
| 37. | the regular forces of an army or navy. |
| 38. | that part of an administrative organization consisting of persons actively engaged on a given project. Compare staff 1 (def. 4). |
| 39. | a thread, string, cord, rope, or the like. |
| 40. | a clothesline: the wash hanging on the line. |
| 41. | a cord, wire, or the like, used for measuring or as a guide. |
| 42. | Nautical.
|
| 43. | Slang. a small quantity of cocaine arranged in the form of a slender thread or line, as for sniffing. |
| 44. | Also, ligne. a unit, 1/40 inch (0.635 millimeter), for measuring the diameter of buttons. |
| 45. | Angling. a length of nylon, silk, linen, cord, or the like, to which are attached the leader, hook, sinker, float, etc. |
| 46. | Football.
|
| 47. | the betting odds established by bookmakers for events not covered by pari-mutuel betting, esp. sporting events, as football or basketball. |
| 48. | Ice Hockey. the two wings and center who make up a team's offensive unit. |
| 49. | Fencing. any of the four divisions of the portion of a fencer's body on which a touch can be scored, taken as an area of attack or defense. |
| 50. | Textiles. the longer and preferred flax or hemp fibers. Compare tow 2 (def. 2). |
| 51. | Fox Hunting. the trail of scent left by a fox. |
| 52. | a unit of length equivalent to 1/12 inch (2.12 millimeters). |
| 53. | Insurance.
|
| 54. | Australian Slang. a girl or woman. |
| 55. | to take a position in a line; range (often fol. by up): to line up before the start of a parade. |
| 56. | Baseball.
|
| 57. | to bring into a line, or into line with others (often fol. by up): to line up troops. |
| 58. | to mark with a line or lines: to line paper for writing. |
| 59. | to sketch verbally or in writing; outline (often fol. by out): We followed the plan he had lined out. |
| 60. | to arrange a line along: to line a coast with colonies. |
| 61. | to form a line along: Rocks lined the drive. |
| 62. | to apply liner to (the eyes). |
| 63. | to delineate with or as if with lines; draw: to line the silhouette of a person's head. |
| 64. | Archaic. to measure or test with a line. |
| 65. | line out,
|
| 66. | line up, to secure; make available: to line up support; to line up a speaker for the banquet. |
| 67. | bring, come, or get into line,
|
| 68. | down the line,
|
| 69. | draw the line, to impose a restriction; limit: They might exaggerate but would draw the line at outright lying. |
| 70. | go up in one's lines, Theater. to forget one's part during a performance. Also, British, go up on one's lines. |
| 71. | hold the line, to maintain the status quo, esp. in order to forestall unfavorable developments: We're trying to hold the line on prices. |
| 72. | in line,
|
| 73. | in line with, in agreement or conformity with: The action taken was in line with her decision. |
| 74. | in the line of duty, in the execution of the duties belonging to some occupation, esp. with regard to the responsibility for life and death: a policeman wounded in the line of duty. Also, in line of duty. |
| 75. | lay it on the line, Informal.
|
| 76. | off line,
|
| 77. | on a line, Baseball. (of a batted or thrown ball) through the air in an approximately straight line from the point of impact or delivery: hit on a line between third and short; thrown in on a line from the center fielder. |
| 78. | on line,
|
| 79. | on the line, Informal.
|
| 80. | out of line,
|
| 81. | read between the lines, to understand the unexpressed but implied meaning of something said or written: Her letter sounded cheerful enough, but I read a certain sadness between the lines. |
| 82. | toe the line or mark,
|

line
line (līn)
n.
The path traced by a moving point.
A thin continuous mark, as that made by a pen, pencil, or brush applied to a surface.
A crease in the skin, especially on the face; a wrinkle.
In anatomy, a long narrow mark, strip, or streak distinguished from adjacent tissue by color, texture, or elevation.
A real or imaginary mark positioned in relation to fixed points of reference.
A border, boundary, or demarcation.
A contour or an outline.
A mark used to define a shape or represent a contour.
Any of the marks that make up the formal design of a picture.
A cable, rope, string, cord or wire.
A general method, manner, or course of procedure.
A manner or course of procedure determined by a specified factor.
An official or prescribed policy.
Ancestry or lineage.
A series of persons, especially from one family, who succeed each other.
| line (līn) Pronunciation Key
A geometric figure formed by a point moving in a fixed direction and in the reverse direction. The intersection of two planes is a line. ◇ The part of a line that lies between two points on the line is called a line segment. |