color line

American  

[kuhl-er lahyn] / ˈkʌl ər ˌlaɪn /

noun

1. Also called color bar.  social or political restriction or distinction based on differences of skin pigmentation, as between white and Black people.

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idioms

1. draw the color line, to observe a color line.

Etymology

Origin of color line

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Example Sentences

When Jackie Robinson entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his informational plaque didn’t mention that he had broken baseball’s color line.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Edsall then focuses on race and America's color line:

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2024

In late 2014 I was hired to play friend #3 in a new commercial for Garnier Nutrisse, the at-home hair color line.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2023

Moses Fleetwood Walker became a catcher for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884, before organized baseball was segregated and more than 60 years before Robinson broke the major leagues’ color line.

From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2023

In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first Negro player to break the color line in baseball, when owner Branch Rickey invited him to join the Brooklyn Dodgers and integrate what was then America’s favorite sport.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson