lead line

[ led ]

/ lɛd /

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noun Nautical.

a line by which a lead is lowered into the water to take soundings: in deep-sea practice, divided into levels one fathom apart, variously treated as marks and deeps.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of lead line

First recorded in 1475–85

Words nearby lead line

leading rating, leading reins, leading strings, leading tone, leading wind, lead line, lead monoxide, leadoff, lead on, lead one to, lead oxide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lead line in a sentence

The instructor would give you a lead line and a slate board, and drop you into the water.
Inside Seal Team Six by Don Mann Excerpt|Don Mann|December 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Soundings were taken at frequent intervals with a hand lead-line, manipulated by Madigan.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
I tell 'ee what, sir, them Frenchies is treecherous devils, an' not to be trusted the len'th of a lead line.
Richard Carvel, Complete|Winston Churchill
He encountered a small, hard line, like a lead-line, being paid out from the forecastle and carried aft by the man who had passed.
Isle o' Dreams|Frederick F. Moore

The man at the helm and the man with the lead-line fell backwards into the boat.
The Secret of the Island|W.H.G. Kingston (translation from Jules Verne)
You would like better something more after the "Munich" school, where the lead line is disguised or circumvented.
Stained Glass Work|C. W. Whall

British Dictionary definitions for lead line

lead line

/ (lɛd) /

noun

nautical a length of line for swinging a lead, marked at various points to indicate multiples of fathoms

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