out of line

prep_phrase

"out-of-line" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“out of line” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see out of, line.

Corpus desk

Index EN-out-of-line · out of line · English

out of line · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "O" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for out of line
PropertyValue
Headwordout of line
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “out of line” in English

out of linefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

out of line is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

out of line doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is out of line, spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -L-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see out of, line.
  2. 2
    Inappropriate or unsuitable, especially by reason of being unmannerly or indelicate.
  3. 3
    Disobedient, not following orders or order.
  4. 4
    Not in a line, straggly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how out of line appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I lost my place when I had to get out of line to find you.
  2. I hope my comments yesterday were not out of line.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "out of line"?
"out of line" is spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -L-I-N-E.
What does "out of line" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "out of line" means: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see out of, line.
What language does "out of line" come from?
"out of line" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list