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

See Examples For:

color line

Robinson broke baseball’s color line and led the Brooklyn Dodgers to the World Series.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Robinson broke baseball’s color line on April 15, 1947, when he took the field in a game at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

His manager was Spider Jorgensen, whose big league debut in 1947 had been somewhat overshadowed by teammate Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color line that day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2025

Professional wrestling was a kind of civil religion in that working-class community, uniting us on both sides of the color line.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2025

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