line
/laɪn/ nounDefinition
MARK [C] › a long, thin mark: a horizontal/straight/vertical line Sign your name on the dotted line. Draw a line around your hand.
ROW [C] › a row of people or things: a line of trees We formed two lines, men on one side and women on the other.
ROPE ETC [C] › a piece of rope or wire with a particular purpose: a clothes/fishing line
TELEPHONE [C] › the connection between two telephones: I've got Neil on the line for you (= waiting to speak to you). I'll be with you in a moment - could you hold the line (= wait), please?
WAITING [C, U] US (UK queue) › a row of people waiting for something, one behind the other: We were standing in line for hours to get tickets.
SONG/POEM [C] › a row of words on a page, for example in a song or poem: The same line is repeated throughout the poem.
lines › the words spoken by an actor in a performance: I don't know how actors remember all their lines.
OPINION [C] › the official opinion of an organization: [usually singular] the government's line on immigration
along the lines of sth › based on and similar to something: He gave a talk along the lines of the one he gave in Oxford.
sb's line of reasoning/thinking, etc › your reasons for believing that something is true or right
PRODUCT [C] › a type of product that a company sells: They're advertising a new line in garden furniture.
DIRECTION [C] › the direction that something moves in: He can't kick the ball in a straight line.
lines › the marks that older people have on their faces, when the skin is loose
BORDER [C] US › a border between two areas: the New York state line
be on the line › If someone's job is on the line, they may lose it.
be in line for sth › to be likely to get something good, especially a job
be in line with sth › to be similar to and suitable for something: a pay increase in line with inflation
→ See also the bottom line → See also dotted line → See also front line → See also hard line (Definition of line noun from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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