a long narrow mark across a surface, e.g. one made by a pencil
in mathematics, a straight or curved path that is traced by a moving point and has length but no breadth
something, e.g. a ridge or seam, that is distinct, elongated, and narrow
a narrow crease, e.g. on the face; a wrinkle
a real or imaginary straight line oriented in terms of stable points of reference
on a line between London and Paris
a circle of latitude or longitude on a sphere
(the Line) the equator
a boundary demarcating an area, or separating it from another one; a border
the state line
a mark, e.g. on a map, indicating the position of a boundary or the outline of an area, or connecting points of e.g. equal height or depth
a marked or imaginary line across or at the limit of a playing area such as a football field, that regulates the playing of a game
a line marking the starting or esp the finishing point for a race
a railway track
a defining outline; an edge or contour
the line of a building
the marks that collectively shape the formal design of a picture as distinguished from the shading or colour
a rank of objects of one kind; a row
a horizontal row of written or printed characters
a single row of words in a poem
(in pl) a piece of poetry
a short letter; a note
a short sequence of words spoken by an actor playing a particular role
(in pl) all of the text making up a particular role
Brit (in pl) a specified number of lines of writing to be copied as a school punishment
NAmer a queue
a related series of people or things coming one after the other in time; a family
an arrangement of operations in industry permitting various stages of manufacture to take place in sequence
a thread, string, cord, or rope
a device for catching fish that consists of a cord with hooks and is attached to a rod or other fishing gear
in music, any of the horizontal parallel strokes on a stave
a succession of musical notes, esp in a melodic phrase
a thin horizontal section of the image on a television screen
in physics, a narrow part of a spectrum distinguished by being noticeably more or less bright than neighbouring areas
a thread, string, cord, or rope, esp:
a clothesline
a rope used on a ship
a device for catching fish that consists of a cord with hooks and is attached to a rod or other fishing gear
a length of material, e.g. cord, used in measuring and levelling
a plumb line
a conducting wire or cable conveying electrical power through a circuit or system or carrying a telecommunications signal
a telephone connection
a continuous length of piping for conveying a liquid or gas
a particular type of merchandise, product, or service
a course of conduct, action, or thought; a policy
a field of activity, interest, or business
a specified manner or theme when talking or writing
a hefty line in home psychoanalysis — Derek Jewell
informal insincere talk used to deceive or persuade somebody
(in pl) the general plan or theme of something
write something on these lines
a group of vehicles, ships, aeroplanes, etc carrying passengers or goods regularly over a route, or the company owning or operating these vehicles
a shipping line
a linked series of trenches and fortifications, esp facing the enemy
a military formation in which the different elements, e.g. soldiers or companies, are abreast of each other
(the line) regular and numbered infantry regiments of the army as opposed to auxiliary forces or troops guarding the sovereign
a regiment of the line
a state of agreement or conformity
must bring them into line
slang a quantity of cocaine arranged in a long narrow strip for snorting
in accounting, denoting money used for current expenditure
at every point, or in every aspect of something
in accounting, denoting money used for capital expenditure
to conform
informal to find out something about
to remain connected and wait while making a telephone call
to resist an attack without retreating or making concessions
in the right position for; likely to get
conforming to
to speak bluntly or make the situation absolutely clear
at risk
Several jobs were on the line
chiefly NAmer informal behaving in an unacceptable fashion, esp rudely and disrespectfully
the point at which something stops, or beyond which no further progress is possible