Synonyms

breadline

British

/ ˈbrɛdˌlaɪn /

noun

a queue of people waiting for free food given out by a government agency or a charity organization
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

Vocabulary lists containing breadline

The Great Depression and The New Deal

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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.

Myles and Creevy play a successful business owner and her new "down on her luck" cleaner who is living on the breadline, Barry said.

From BBC • Sep. 1, 2025

When the tour’s over, I’m back on the breadline, honey.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2024

Ministers often repeat that 100,000 children have been kept above the breadline by their policies, and the child payment is frequently lauded by charities.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2024

The true number of people on the breadline may be much higher.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 18, 2023

For two or three days he had been taking up his position among the beggars of the breadline, when once he caught sight of Roberto entering the barracks.

From The Quest by Goldberg, Isaac

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023