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| line [ līn ] |
noun (plural lines) |
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| Definition: |
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1. long narrow mark: a long narrow mark or stroke made on or in a surface
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2. row: a row of people or things
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3. people waiting: a row of people or things waiting for a turn at something or for admittance to a place
  He's too impatient to wait in line.
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4. direction: a path or direction of movement
The object was moving in a straight line toward us.
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5. shape: the characteristic shape or contour of something
(
often used in the plural
)
the car's sleek lines
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6. border: a boundary or division between two properties, jurisdictions, or political units
The driver was heading for the county line.
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7. sports confining boundary: a long narrow mark that shows the boundary of any of the divisions of a playing area or race track
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8. limit: any limit or division
a thin line between happiness and misery
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9. series of people: a series of people, usually in the same family, who follow one another in the same job or role
the last in a long line of musicians
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10. series of events: a series of related events or situations
the latest in a long line of disasters for the company
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11. facial mark: a wrinkle or crease in the skin of the face
(
often used in the plural
)
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12. approach: a course or approach followed in doing something
his line of reasoning
We have to decide what line to take before the meeting.
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13. policy: a policy, a way of thinking, or a version of something
What's the government line on this?
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14. deceiving talk: something said to deceive, impress, or attract somebody
(
informal
)
gave me that old line about the dog eating his homework
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15. brief message: a short written message
Why not drop me a line?
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16. connection: a telephone connection
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17. type of merchandise: a particular type of product or merchandise
our new line of children's wear
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18. thin rope: a length of rope or wire
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19. specialized field: a particular area of interest, work, activity, or expertise
in my line of work
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20. insurance kind or amount of insurance: a type of insurance, or the amount of insurance an underwriter will sell to cover a specific risk
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21. useful information: useful information or an insight into something
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22. electric cable: a cable used for transmitting electric power or electronic messages
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23. row of print: a row of words or numbers on a page or other surface
a few lines of doggerel
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24. tv part of television picture: a horizontal scan that with many others forms the picture on a television screen
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25. rail track: the track on which a railroad train runs
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26. rail fixed railroad route: a particular part of a railroad network
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27. transportation transport company: a company that runs a regular service of buses, ships, or aircraft on a route
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28. transportation route: a rail, sea, or air route served by a transport organization
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29. football football players: in football, either of the two rows of opposing players facing each other on either side of the line of scrimmage
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30. football
Same as line of scrimmage
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31. music melody: the notes that make up a melody
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32. music part of staff: a horizontal mark that is one of five that make up a staff
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33. military positioned formation: a formation of troops, ships, weapons, or fortifications positioned in a place
(
often used in the plural
)
behind enemy lines
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34. military fighting force: the military or naval units of a country that actually go into battle
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35. mathematics one-dimensional element: in mathematics, a straight geometric element that has length but not width or thickness and whose identity is determined by two points
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36. mathematics traced path of point: in mathematics, an imaginary path that has length but not width, traced by a moving point
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37. electronics narrow band of frequencies: a narrow band of frequencies in an electromagnetic spectrum
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38. sports odds: odds for wagering
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39. drugs amount of drug: a portion of a drug such as cocaine scraped into a long thin row to be inhaled
(
slang
)
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40. geography equator: the equator
(
dated
)
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plural noun lines |
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| Definition: |
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actor's words: the spoken words that make up an actor's part
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verb (past and past participle lined, present participle lin·ing, 3rd person present singular lines) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb mark line on something: to mark something with lines
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2. transitive verb arrange something along edge: to arrange or be arranged along the edge or length of something
shrubs lining the driveway
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3. transitive and intransitive verb baseball hit line drive: to hit a line drive in baseball
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| [Pre-12th century. Directly or via French ligne< Latin linea "linen string, line" < linum "flax, linen"; partly < Old English līne, probably via Germanic < Latin linea] |
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| lin·a·ble adjective |
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all along the line throughout or at every stage in something
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down or along the line
1. at some time in the future
looking for improvements down the line
2. at every stage
poor communications all down the line
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draw the line to restrict or set limits at a particular point
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hold the line
1. to keep a telephone connection open while waiting to speak to somebody
2. to resist a military attack without giving ground or allowing a formation to be broken
3. to be firm under pressure in maintaining an existing condition or situation (informal)
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in line
1. arranged in an orderly row
2. in keeping with a policy or obedient to a set of rules
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in line for likely to receive something such as a promotion or position
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in line with in agreement or conformity with something
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lay it on the line to speak about something frankly (informal)
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lay or put something on the line to risk by some action the loss of something valuable (informal)
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out of line
1. rude and disrespectful
2. unruly or out of control
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read between the lines to deduce something that is not made explicit (informal)
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shoot a line to exaggerate abilities or attributes in order to impress somebody (informal)
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toe the line to comply with what is expected
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