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.
He held a mix of above and below the line roles on projects, including the low-budget feature “Tag: The Assassination Game,” starring Linda Hamilton and Robert Carradine.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
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
"Seeing this is already intimidating if you are below the line."
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2025
The Pride are below the line with 28 points while Racing is eighth with 27 points.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 6, 2023
Under no circumstances can a side score anything, either above or below the line, except for Honours or Chicane, on a hand in which one of them has revoked.
From Hoyle's Games Modernized by Hoffmann, Louis
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.
