beeline

American  

[bee-lahyn] / ˈbiˌlaɪn /

noun

1. a direct route traveled quickly (usually in the phrasemake a beeline for ).

   The minute he came home he made a beeline for the refrigerator.

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beeline British  

/ ˈbiːˌlaɪn /

noun

1. the most direct route between two places (esp in the phrase make a beeline for )

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beeline Idioms  

1. see make a beeline for.

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Etymology

Origin of beeline

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; bee ¹ + line ¹

Explanation

A beeline is the swiftest, most direct route between two points. If you are shopping at the mall on a weekend afternoon and you see an empty parking space, you should make a beeline for it or risk circling the lot for hours. The word beeline combines the words bee and line. The idea behind the word is the belief that a bee, when it is done feeding, will take the shortest path back to its hive without delay or meandering. So beeline not only has the sense of being a direct route, but also that there is some haste behind the action. If you make a beeline for the chocolate at a party, you went straight to the dessert table without eating dinner first.

Example Sentences

They made a beeline to the gift shop for the one prize more coveted than a green jacket: a garden gnome.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

González made a beeline to his wife of five decades, and for the first time all night they did what they had come to do: They danced.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Villaraigosa flitted around the racers’ VIP tent, spotted a bowl of fortune cookies and made a beeline.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

Western leaders, including British PM Keir Starmer and Canada's Mark Carney, have been making a beeline for Beijing in recent months.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

Gloria and Ruth—Gram’s best friends since childhood—make a beeline for me as soon as they walk in the door.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish