lineman

[ lahyn-muh n ]

/ ˈlaɪn mən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lineman ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural line·men.

Also linesman. a person who installs or repairs telephone, telegraph, or other wires.

Football. one of the players in the line, as a center, guard, tackle, or end.

Surveying. a person who marks the positions of a survey mark with a range pole or the like.

RELATED WORDS

juicer, wireman, linesman

Nearby words

linebreeding, linecaster, linecasting, lined, lineker, lineman, lineman's pliers, linen, linen closet, linen draper, linen panel

Origin of lineman

First recorded in 1855–60; line¹ + -man

Related formsun·der·line·man, noun, plural un·der·line·men.

Usage note

See -man.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lineman

Citi is now betting the lineman can transform into a quarterback.
Citi's Parade of CEOs|Daniel Gross|October 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A former Colgate University lineman, Rooney was a pugnacious GI who had trouble keeping his lips zipped.
The Story of the American Journalists Who Landed on D-Day|Timothy M. Gay|June 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
"Anybody ought to know it 'thout being told, you old Rube," growled the lineman, who was from Boggs City.
The Daughter of Anderson Crow|George Barr McCutcheon
Seagrue, with a curse, sprang back, and drawing a knife rushed for the second time at the lineman.
The Mountain Divide|Frank H. Spearman

Scott and the lineman swung into their saddles and started down the trail that led to the landing.
The Mountain Divide|Frank H. Spearman
The lineman snorted and the operator saw that his appeal had fallen flat.
The Mountain Divide|Frank H. Spearman
Moses Farmer, the electrician, invented the lineman's spurred irons by which to climb them.
Charles Carleton Coffin|William Elliot Griffis, D. D.

British Dictionary definitions for lineman

lineman

/ (ˈlaɪnmən) /

noun plural -men

another name for platelayer

a person who does the chaining, taping, or marking of points for a surveyor

Australian and NZ (formerly) the member of a beach life-saving team who controlled the line used to help drowning swimmers and surfers

American football a member of the row of players who start each down positioned on either side of the line of scrimmage

US and Canadian another word for linesman (def. 2)

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

Word Origin and History for lineman

lineman

1858, worker on telegraph (later telephone) lines, from line (n.) + man (n.).