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.

The compass is well lit in daylight, stabilizes quickly and is easy to read, although the range-finding lines and lubber line are quite thin, making them hard to see in poor light.

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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

They were hanging to a lubber line near the quarterdeck, which on the chaser was a part of the after deck having imaginary boundaries only, established by order of the chaser's commander.

From Navy Boys Behind the Big Guns Sinking the German U-Boats by Owen, R. Emmett (Robert Emmett)

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