lineman
Americannoun
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Also a person who installs or repairs telephone, telegraph, or other wires.
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Football. one of the players in the line, as a center, guard, tackle, or end.
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Surveying. a person who marks the positions of a survey mark with a range pole or the like.
noun
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another name for platelayer
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a person who does the chaining, taping, or marking of points for a surveyor
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(formerly) the member of a beach life-saving team who controlled the line used to help drowning swimmers and surfers
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American football a member of the row of players who start each down positioned on either side of the line of scrimmage
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another word for linesman
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of lineman
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.
A former Yale offensive lineman, he started his career as a high school football coach after an unsuccessful attempt to make the NFL and now describes himself as a “lifelong entrepreneur.”
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
Xavier Payne, a freshman offensive lineman at the University of Colorado, never went to a dance at his Orlando, Fla., high school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
“As the lineman would go down the street, bringing cable to the city, the people would run alongside their trucks, bang on his side, and say, ‘When can we have it?’
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
The Chargers also are bringing back offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III on a two-year, $10-million deal that includes an additional $2 million in potential incentives, according to multiple reports.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
Billy Steen, who bore no resemblance whatever to a football player but had become one through sheer will, fighting off an offensive lineman four inches taller and fifty pounds heavier to sack the quarterback.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
