breadline
/ˈbɹɛdlaɪn/noun
breadline is spelled B-R-E-A-D-L-I-N-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 125,655th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, breadline means “A line of people waiting to receive food from a charity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of breadline is breadlines.
How many letters and syllables are in breadline?
| Letters | 9: B-R-E-A-D-L-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 125,655th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is breadline?
Breadline appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 125,655th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce breadline?
- US /ˈbɹɛdlaɪn/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-breadline.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of breadline
- breadlines plural
- bread line
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does breadline mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USA line of people waiting to receive food from a charity.
- 2
UKThe lowest income level at which one's most basic necessities of survival are met; poverty line or subsistence level.
Every day brings new worries about falling below the breadline.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Breadline in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Brotschlange , Existenzminimum |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does breadline come from?
From bread + line. In sense 2, referring to the income level at which one can afford to buy bread, a staple food.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).