lines
Britishplural noun
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general appearance or outline
a car with fine lines
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a plan of procedure or construction
built on traditional lines
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the spoken words of a theatrical presentation
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the words of a particular role
he forgot his lines
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informal a marriage certificate
marriage lines
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luck, fate, or fortune (esp in the phrase hard lines )
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rows of tents, buildings, temporary stabling, etc, in a military camp
transport lines
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a defensive position, row of trenches, or other fortification
we broke through the enemy lines
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a school punishment of writing the same sentence or phrase out a specified number of times
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the phrases or sentences so written out
a hundred lines
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to understand or find an implicit meaning in addition to the obvious one
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.
I live in a part of the world—Brooklyn, N.Y.—dotted with destination pizzerias whose lines snake down sidewalks.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
By studying the angles of the auroras in those images and mapping them along Earth's magnetic field lines, the researchers were able to estimate how high the glowing structures reached into the atmosphere.
From Science Daily • May 22, 2026
A federal judge in Florida ordered each of the cruise lines to pay $100 million in damages, but the U.S. appeals court in Atlanta blocked the decision by a 2-1 vote.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
The divers were returning to the cave Thursday to remove guide lines and operational equipment used inside the cave system during the recovery efforts.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
“Ice brought the lines too close to the trees. We’re keeping an eye on it, since the fire department is too busy to answer the phone.”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
