chalk line
Americannoun
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a chalked string for making a straight line on a large surface, as a wall, by holding the string taut against the surface and snapping it to transfer the chalk.
-
the line so made.
Etymology
Origin of chalk line
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
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.
If you want to be extremely accurate, you need to have the corner of the hook of each tape measure on the points of the 4-foot marks on the chalk line.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2022
Five girls and two boys took off from a blue chalk line.
From New York Times • Aug. 9, 2021
The thing to do is snap a chalk line and cut out the dip.
From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2020
It was 69 years ago—on April 15, 1947—that Robinson crossed the third base chalk line at Brooklyn’s Ebbet’s Field to become the first African American to play in the Major Leagues.
From Time • Apr. 15, 2016
But when a shooter stepped up to the white chalk line, he became all business.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
