hard lines
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hard lines
First recorded in 1815–25
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.
The fact that AI-generated text can’t be copyrighted has made it one of the hard lines the industry has been able to enforce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Giving him a face and a broken heart and Goldstein’s soulfulness asks us to reexamine our own hard lines — and wonder whether they’re protective or binding.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2024
England are back on the front foot and running hard lines at the blue wall.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2024
A large flame fueled by a kerosene base burned overhead on the rig’s defunct mast, casting hard lines of shadow across his face.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2023
He was smiling broadly and warmly now, his eyes wrinkling at the corners, the hard lines of his face almost gone.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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.
