main line
noun
a principal line or route of a railroad, as contrasted with a branch or secondary one.
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main line
1 Americannoun
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a principal line or route of a railroad, as contrasted with a branch or secondary one.
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a principal highway.
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Slang.
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a prominent and readily accessible vein of the body that may be used for a narcotic's injection.
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the act of mainlining.
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Main Line
2
American
noun
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a fashionable residential district west of Philadelphia.
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any fashionable district where socially prominent people live.
main line
British
noun
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railways
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the trunk route between two points, usually fed by branch lines
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( as modifier )
a main-line station
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a main road
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of main line
First recorded in 1835–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Now it is leaning harder into those other lines of work, though its wine business is still its main line of business by far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Rupireddy called Late Stage’s main line dozens of times, but he said no one answered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The WiFi on hundreds of Britain's main line trains is set to be upgraded under government plans.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
A message The Associated Press left on the city’s Law Department main line seeking comment Monday wasn’t immediately returned.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2024
As we trundled back down the main line, I was thinking about all that I had seen.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Ticket acceptance is in place on alternative routes including the East Coast Main Line, and Midland Main Line via Sheffield.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Network Rail has warned that the Midland Main Line will remain closed to East Midlands Railway and Thameslink services until the end of the week.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
In suburbs including Philadelphia’s Main Line, moms and dads are pleading with districts to rein in tech: “These electronics have ruined parenting.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Lev, 49, started reaching out to other parents here, in Philadelphia’s wealthy Main Line suburbs, and he found hundreds of families who felt the same way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
It’s on the prestigious Main Line, just twenty-five minutes outside Philadelphia, on a rolling campus surrounded by overgrown foliage.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
