above the line
Americanadverb
adjective
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denoting entries printed above the horizontal line on a company's profit-and-loss account separating the entries that show how the profit (or loss) was made from the entries showing how the profit is to be distributed
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(of an advertising campaign) employing an advertising agency to use the press, television, radio, cinema, and posters
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(in national accounts) denoting transactions concerned with revenue shown above a horizontal line that separates them from capital transactions Compare below-the-line
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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.
McIlroy was comfortable in saying it was above the line, played short of the green and wound up making double bogey.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 14, 2024
Another result of Mr. Sanders’ proposal would be a reduction in poverty, with some 400,000 families lifted above the line.
From Washington Times • Dec. 19, 2023
“You can see the smog separation just above the line of the mountains,” Hernandez says.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2023
“We’re assuming that every single person above the line can be successful at the school,” Dr. Richardson said.
From New York Times • Jul. 8, 2023
A long muscle twitched above the line of his jaw as he spoke.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.