lineman

American  

[lahyn-muhn] / ˈlaɪn mən /

noun

plural

linemen

1. Also a person who installs or repairs telephone, telegraph, or other wires.

2. Football. one of the players in the line, as a center, guard, tackle, or end.

3. Surveying. a person who marks the positions of a survey mark with a range pole or the like.

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lineman British  

/ ˈlaɪnmən /

noun

1. another name for platelayer

2. a person who does the chaining, taping, or marking of points for a surveyor

3. (formerly) the member of a beach life-saving team who controlled the line used to help drowning swimmers and surfers

4. American football a member of the row of players who start each down positioned on either side of the line of scrimmage

5. another word for linesman

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Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

• underlineman
  noun

Etymology

Origin of lineman

First recorded in 1855–60; line ¹ + -man

Example Sentences

Lineman: Blake Graham, Leuzinger, 6-3, 300, Sr. — The Cal Poly commit cleared the way for more than 2,600 yards rushing for a team that won the Bay League title.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2025

He went on to play the song Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell, a song Wright regularly used as background music for his show.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2024

In the year since, Texas’ interior menaces have continued to emerge, with Sweat being named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Murphy taking home Defensive Lineman of the Year honors.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 31, 2023

Murphy was named the 2023 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year after putting up 26 tackles, eight tackles for loss and five sacks this season.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2023

Amongst the early settlers were J. H. Lineman in 1854, J. A. Upham and George Rieder in 1855.

From Fifty Years In The Northwest With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And Notes by Folsom, William Henry Carman