- line
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 long thin mark on the surface of sthADJECTIVE▪ long▪ short▪ thick▪ fine, thin▪ faint▪
a faint white line
▪ direct, straight▪ curved, jagged, wavy, zigzag▪ diagonal, horizontal, parallel, perpendicular, vertical▪ continuous, solid, unbroken▪ broken, dashed (AmE), dotted▪Sign on the dotted line.
▪ finish (AmE), finishing (BrE), starting (all sports)▪ free-throw (AmE), goal (both sports)▪The ball bounced off the crossbar and fell behind the goal line.
▪ contour▪ boundary, state (AmE)▪the boundary line between two countries
▪His family lived across the state line in West Virginia.
▪ centre/center▪She crossed the centre/center line and hit an oncoming truck.
VERB + LINE▪ draw, markLINE + VERB▪ run▪ divide sth, separate sth▪ connect sth▪The pencil line connects one box to another.
▪ correspond to sth, denote sth, depict sth, indicate sth, mark sth, represent sth, show sth▪Horizontal lines indicate the time spent executing the program.
PREPOSITION▪ in a line▪Walk in a straight line.
PHRASES▪ a line of latitude, a line of longitude2 row of people, things, words on a page, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ long, short▪ new▪ continuousVERB + LINE▪ formPREPOSITION▪ in a/the line▪The soldiers stood in a line.
▪ on a/the line▪Start each paragraph on a new line.
3 (AmE) people, etc. waiting to do sth ⇨ See also ↑queueADJECTIVE▪ long, short▪ checkout, lunch▪supermarket checkout lines
▪The lunch line was long as usual.
VERB + LINE▪ formPREPOSITION▪ in line▪You'll have to wait in line like everybody else.
4 telephone, electricity, gas, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ direct, trunk▪ power, transmission, utility (AmE)▪ sewer (AmE)▪ fuel, gas (both AmE)▪There were two fuel lines coming into the engine.
▪ phone, telephone▪ DSL▪ fax▪ outside, party, private▪What do I dial for an outside line?
VERB + LINE▪ hold▪Hold the line (= Don't put the receiver down), please.
LINE + VERB▪ be busy (AmE), be engaged (BrE)▪ be dead, go deadPREPOSITION▪ down the line▪He kept shouting down the line at me.
▪ on the line▪It's your mother on the line (= on the telephone).
▪ on line (usually online) (= connected to a computer system)5 transport/transportationADJECTIVE▪ rail (AmE), railway (BrE), train▪ subway (AmE), underground (esp. BrE)▪ main▪ branch (esp. BrE), commuter, trunk▪The branch line is threatened with closure.
VERB + LINE▪ take▪Take the green line and change at the first stop.
PREPOSITION▪ on a/the line▪We live on the Northern Line. (BrE)
PHRASES▪ the end of the line6 (usually lines) words spoken by an actor in a playVERB + LINES▪ learn, practise/practice▪ recite, say▪ forget▪ flub (AmE), fluff (esp. BrE), mess up (esp. AmE)▪ miss7 on the skinADJECTIVE▪ worry▪ deep▪Deep lines ran from her nose to her mouth.
▪ faint▪I saw the faint lines of concern etched into his brow.
VERB + LINE▪ have▪He has lines on his forehead.
LINE + VERB▪ run▪ appear▪Deep worry lines had appeared on her forehead.
8 way of doing or thinking about sthADJECTIVE▪ broad▪The broad lines of company policy are already laid down.
▪ firm, hard, strong, tough▪ official, party, politicalVERB + LINE▪ adopt, follow, pursue, take▪ fall into▪The actions of investors do not always fall into line with financial theory.
▪ bring sb/sth into▪The other members of the board must be brought into line.
PREPOSITION▪ in line with (= in agreement with), out of line with (= not in agreement with)▪out of line with party policies
▪ line on▪the official line on food safety
PHRASES▪ a line of argument, a line of reasoning▪There's a problem with this line of reasoning.
▪ a line of attack▪Our approach involves two main lines of attack.
▪ a line of enquiry/inquiry, a line of investigation, a line of questioning▪ a line of thought▪This line of thought perturbs me.
▪ a line of evidence (esp. AmE)▪multiple lines of evidence all leading to the same conclusion
9 place where an army is fightingADJECTIVE▪ battle, defensive, firing, front, offensive (AmE)▪The middle managers were in the firing line of job cuts. (figurative)
PHRASES▪ behind enemy lines▪ in the front line, on the front line▪ line of defence/defense▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}We know that intelligence is our first line of defence/defense against terrorism.
verb
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
