below the line
Americanadverb
adjective
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denoting the entries printed below the horizontal line on a company's profit-and-loss account that show how any profit is to be distributed
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(of an advertising campaign) employing sales promotions, direct marketing, in-store exhibitions and displays, trade shows, sponsorship, and merchandising that do not involve an advertising agency
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(in national accounts) below the horizontal line separating revenue from capital transactions Compare above-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.
But the prospect of a stretch without Tatum provided the perfect timing for the Celtics to duck below the line and clean up their finances.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
“People who are below the line are already suffering.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
If it was up to the commenters below the line on BBC Sport's articles about this series, Wane would already be out on his ear.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2025
Angel City was below the line and upset Portland 5-1 on Sunday to clinch the first berth in the franchise’s two-year history.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2023
Finally, a mile or more below the line of the stockade, he completed his wide detour by driving them due east.
From The Plow-Woman by Gates, Eleanor
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.
