assembly line

American  

noun

1. an arrangement of machines, tools, and workers in which a product is assembled by having each perform a specific, successive operation on an incomplete unit as it passes by in a series of stages organized in a direct line.

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assembly line British  

noun

1. a sequence of machines, tools, operations, workers, etc, in a factory, arranged so that at each stage a further process is carried out

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assembly line Cultural  

1. A line of factory workers and equipment along which a product being assembled passes consecutively from operation to operation until completed.

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Assembly lines are found in many industries but are particularly associated with automobile manufacturing.

Etymology

Origin of assembly line

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

In Chipotle’s case, Ells freely admits his muse was taquerías in San Francisco’s Mission District that prepped burritos in the assembly line manner and size his company would soon imitate.

From Los Angeles Times

Now, amid a national housing shortage, the question felt as pressing as ever: What if construction could harness the speed, efficiency, quality control and cost-savings of the assembly line?

From Los Angeles Times

Across town, executives at Ford are studying if a new assembly line set to go up in Kentucky next year could build not just small electric pickups, but sedans as well.

From The Wall Street Journal

“You didn’t expect anybody to love standing on the automobile assembly line,” she said.

From MarketWatch

In clipped, fast-moving scenes, Mr. Sayles shifts between the boardroom and the assembly line, and radiates out to develop the roles of attendant characters, from journalists to labor activists to gangsters and rumrunners.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• production line