sideline

American  

[sahyd-lahyn] / ˈsaɪdˌlaɪn /

noun

• sidelines
  plural

1. a line at the side of something.

2. a business or activity pursued in addition to one's primary business; a second occupation.

3. an additional or auxiliary line of goods.

   a grocery store with a sideline of household furnishings.

4. Sports.

   1. either of the two lines defining the side boundaries of a field or court.

   2. sidelines, the area immediately beyond either sideline, where the substitute players sit.

5. sidelines, the position or point of view taken by a person who observes an activity or situation but does not directly participate in it.

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verb (used with object)

• sidelines,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sidelined,
  past participle,  past
• sidelining
  present participle

1. to render incapable of participation, especially in anything involving vigorous, physical action, as a sport.

   An injury to his throwing arm sidelined the quarterback for two weeks.

sideline British  

/ ˈsaɪdˌlaɪn /

noun

1. sport a line that marks the side boundary of a playing area

2. a subsidiary interest or source of income

3. an auxiliary business activity or line of merchandise

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verb

1. to prevent (a player) from taking part in a game

2. to prevent (a person) from pursuing a particular activity, operation, career, etc

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sidelines
  plural

Participles

• sidelining
  present
• sidelined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sideline
  simple
• sidelines
  simple
• have sidelined
  perfect
• has sidelined
  perfect
• am sidelining
  progressive
• are sidelining
  progressive
• is sidelining
  progressive
• have been sidelining
  perfect progressive
• has been sidelining
  perfect progressive

Past

• sidelined
  simple
• had sidelined
  perfect
• was sidelining
  progressive
• were sidelining
  progressive
• had been sidelining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sideline
  simple
• will have sidelined
  perfect
• will be sidelining
  progressive
• will have been sidelining
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sideline

An Americanism dating back to 1685–95; side ¹ + line ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sideline sidelines sidelined sidelining

“Pretty good,” Trent, USC’s star freshman receiver, said on the sideline when asked about Grant’s touchdown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

And if you’re still worried, there’s a radio in the helmet for the sideline to communicate with the QB.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

After setting the tone defensively against the Kings, forwards Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle watched from the sideline Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

This time, it’s with Mendoza, who won last season’s college football national championship with Indiana and now has the luxury of learning Kubiak’s system from the sideline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Guys on the sideline were going crazy too, yelling and pointing at each other.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña

In a statement, he denied being a member of the group but said he had "supported their movement over the years from the sidelines".

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

“We don’t need the U.S. market to be number one,” Li told The Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of the show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

“It kind of makes intuitive sense. If you are an investor and on the sidelines, you are watching the market get away from you,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026

The week will also see several key meetings on the sidelines, including of G20 finance ministers, where spiking bond yields will be high on the agenda.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Belew, who had spent most of the game in the press box re-laying offensive signals to Caines over the headset, moved down to the sidelines in the waning moments of the game, clearly beside himself.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

With Kessler sidelined, the Lakers have alternated Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili at center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

His replacement, Fred Barron, was sidelined, too, after Mr. David refused to work with him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Madjo has been sidelined for seven weeks since that game because of injury, but he is close to making a first-team return after appearing in a friendly against Sevilla during the international break.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Lakers star Luka Doncic puts on a show with Walker Kessler and Austin Reaves sidelined by injury in a 127-103 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

If Alexia had been her old self, she would have controlled them, but now that Alexia was sidelined, all the girls got along better.

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

So much can go wrong if he’s pitching, and any pitching injury could have the double whammy of sidelining him as a hitter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

He then nominated LaNeve for Army vice chief of staff after sidelining the incumbent, Gen. James Mingus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is still the most sizable disruption, “effectively sidelining circa 20% of LNG trade,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

And while previous TV adaptations root into the emotional interiority of their male characters while sidelining female desire, “The Forsytes” places more narrative purpose in the hands of its women.

From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026

From trade deals to cars, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are increasingly joining forces to steer the EU agenda -- risking sidelining French President Emmanuel Macron.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

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