main line
noun
a principal line or route of a railroad, as contrasted with a branch or secondary one.
main line
1 Americannoun
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a principal line or route of a railroad, as contrasted with a branch or secondary one.
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a principal highway.
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Slang.
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a prominent and readily accessible vein of the body that may be used for a narcotic's injection.
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the act of mainlining.
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Main Line
2
American
noun
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a fashionable residential district west of Philadelphia.
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any fashionable district where socially prominent people live.
main line
British
noun
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railways
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the trunk route between two points, usually fed by branch lines
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( as modifier )
a main-line station
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a main road
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of main line
First recorded in 1835–45
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.
See Examples For:
Rupireddy called Late Stage’s main line dozens of times, but he said no one answered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The WiFi on hundreds of Britain's main line trains is set to be upgraded under government plans.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
A government source said the upgrade would "rocket boost connectivity on every main line train in Britain over the next few years, tackling both slow speeds and irritating not-spots".
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
A message The Associated Press left on the city’s Law Department main line seeking comment Monday wasn’t immediately returned.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2024
The main line had been cleared and the first train rattled slowly through.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
In suburbs including Philadelphia’s Main Line, moms and dads are pleading with districts to rein in tech: “These electronics have ruined parenting.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Lev, 49, started reaching out to other parents here, in Philadelphia’s wealthy Main Line suburbs, and he found hundreds of families who felt the same way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
The full service from London Euston to Curzon Street and a connection to the West Coast Main Line is not expected to run until between 2040 and 2043.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
The West Coast Main Line does not have the capacity to run any more trains, while the East Coast Mainline's new December timetable will make it much busier, he says.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2025
It’s on the prestigious Main Line, just twenty-five minutes outside Philadelphia, on a rolling campus surrounded by overgrown foliage.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
