bread line

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

bread and butter, bread and circuses, bread and honey, bread flour, bread knife, bread line, bread mold, bread mould, bread sauce, bread-and-butter, 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

/ (ˈbrɛdˌlaɪn) /

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