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bread line

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bread line ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a group of needy persons waiting in line for free food to be distributed by a government agency or charitable organization.

RELATED WORDS

pauperism

Nearby words

  1. bread and circuses,
  2. bread and honey,
  3. bread basket,
  4. bread flour,
  5. bread knife,
  6. bread mold,
  7. bread mould,
  8. bread sauce,
  9. bread-and-butter,
  10. bread-and-butter letter

Origin of bread line

First recorded in 1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for breadline

  • It seemed brutal to be wading into the bill of fare with poor old Bicky headed for the breadline.

    My Man Jeeves|P. G. Wodehouse
British Dictionary definitions for breadline

breadline

noun

a queue of people waiting for free food given out by a government agency or a charity organization
on the breadline impoverished; living at subsistence level
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012