lubber line

British

noun

Also called: lubber's line. a mark on a ship's compass that designates the fore-and-aft axis of the vessel

"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

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.

We found the lubber line particularly clear for night use.

From Time Magazine Archive

At night, the big lubber line is easy to use, although the light is brighter than ideal.

From Time Magazine Archive

I'd have to leave the wheel to get a fix on the lubber line.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dick couldn't see them or the compass lubber line; he had to guess a bearing from the center of the picture.

From Time Magazine Archive

The lubber line, therefore, will always represent the bow of the ship, and the point on the compass card nearest the lubber line will be the point toward which the ship is heading.

From Lectures in Navigation by Draper, Ernest Gallaudet

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023