broken line

American  

noun

1. a discontinuous line or series of line segments, as a series of dashes, or a figure made up of line segments meeting at oblique angles.

2. a highway marking consisting of a series of disconnected line segments painted between lanes of a roadway, indicating that crossing from one to the other is permissible.

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Example Sentences

These five nations that have recently experienced military coups form a broken line that stretches across the wide bulge of Africa, from Guinea on the west coast to Sudan in the east.

From New York Times • Jan. 28, 2022

The broken line along 15 Mile Road caused a football field-sized sinkhole on Christmas Eve, led to condemnation of three houses and threatened to dump raw sewage into thousands of basements through the broken pipe.

From Washington Times • Sep. 26, 2017

Or it can be used almost dry to make a broken line that scrapes along textured paper.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2011

The other is a tidy broken line near the top of the canvas, hinting at a level of consciousness that won't be breached by the purposeful creature below.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 30, 2010

On Alex’s map, nevertheless, the broken line meandered west from the Parks Highway for forty miles or so before petering out in the middle of trackless wilderness north of Mt.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer