line

Where “line” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
2. 2
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
3. 3
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
4. 4
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
5. 5
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
6. 6
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
7. 7
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
8. 8
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
9. 9
   A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
10. 10
    A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
11. 11
    A rope, cord, string, thread, or cable, of any thickness.
12. 12
    A hose, tube, or pipe, of any size.
13. 13
    Direction, path.
14. 14
    A procession, either physical or conceptual, which results from the application or effect of a given rationale or other controlling principles of belief, opinion, practice, or phenomenon.
15. 15
    The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, a telephone or internet cable between two points: a telephone or network connection.
16. 16
    A clothesline.
17. 17
    A letter, a written form of communication.
18. 18
    A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.; a railroad line, railway line, Elizabeth Line etc.
19. 19
    A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
20. 20
    The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
21. 21
    A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
22. 22
    A measuring line or cord.
23. 23
    That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
24. 24
    A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
25. 25
    Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
26. 26
    A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation.
27. 27
    A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation.
28. 28
    The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.
29. 29
    A series of notes forming a certain part (such as the bass or melody) of a greater work.
30. 30
    A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
31. 31
    A small amount of text. Specifically:
32. 32
    A small amount of text. Specifically:
33. 33
    A small amount of text. Specifically:
34. 34
    A small amount of text. Specifically:
35. 35
    Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.
36. 36
    The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction.
37. 37
    Information about or understanding of something. (Mostly restricted to the expressions get a line on, have a line on, and give a line on.)
38. 38
    A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself.
39. 39
    A number of shares taken by a jobber.
40. 40
    Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude
41. 41
    Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude:
42. 42
    Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude:
43. 43
    Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude:
44. 44
    Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude:
45. 45
    Ellipsis of agate line (one fourteenth of an inch).
46. 46
    A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
47. 47
    The batter's box.
48. 48
    The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
49. 49
    Proper relative position or adjustment (of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working).
50. 50
    A portion or serving of a powdery recreational drug, especially cocaine, formed into a line on a flat surface in preparation for snorting.
51. 51
    Instruction; doctrine.
52. 52
    A population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.
53. 53
    a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.
54. 54
    A group of forwards that play together.
55. 55
    A set of positions in a team which play in a similar position on the field; in a traditional team, consisting of three players and acting as one of six such sets in the team.
56. 56
    A vascular catheter.

Etymology

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne (“line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”). Influenced in Middle English by Middle French ligne (“line”), from Latin linea. More at linen. The oldest sense of the word is “rope, cord, thread”; from this the senses “path”, “continuous mark” were derived.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ilne,linne,lline,lnie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of line - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Frequently Asked Questions