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Synonyms

clothesline

American  
[klohz-lahyn, klohthz-] / ˈkloʊzˌlaɪn, ˈkloʊðz- /

noun

  • clotheslines
    plural
  1. a strong, narrow rope, cord, wire, etc., usually stretched between two poles, posts, or buildings, on which clean laundry is hung to dry.


clothesline British  
/ ˈkləʊðzˌlaɪn /

noun

  1. a piece of rope, cord, or wire on which clean washing is hung to dry or air

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of clothesline

First recorded in 1820–30; clothes + line 1


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.

See Examples For:

I use a clothesline on the balcony and a laundromat nearby in case I have an urgent need to dry things.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Eleven-year-old Arakel is holding his cardboard model of a house with a retractable clothesline.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2025

“One of the things I did to myself is I didn't want the joke attached to time. If time was like a clothesline, I wanted to do it for as long as ever.”

From Salon ● May 22, 2024

I use a clothesline made of four shoelaces and aim my three fans to dry everything.

From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2023

The once fresh green of the trees was dark and drying now and somewhere down below a clothesline peddler clanged his bell and called.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

In the covered outdoor corridors, Irhil and the other families have appropriated the space, setting up planters on ledges, a dish-washing station in a classroom sink, and clotheslines between the columns.

From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025

The long, thin spaghetti shape, he says, was an especially efficient way to dry the pasta, by hanging the strands on structures similar to clotheslines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025

A strip of a mud-floored foyer packs in a kitchen, a few plastic chairs, two rope beds and fraying clotheslines.

From BBC ● May 8, 2024

Dozens of tents line the sidewalk outside the Sheraton Gateway and Four Points Sheraton LAX; over the tents dangle string lights and clotheslines festooned with laundry, including lacy lingerie and baby onesies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2023

The neighborhood became darker, a labyrinth of clotheslines, rusty fire escapes, and brick walls.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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