mainline
Americanverb (used without object)
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to inject a narcotic, especially heroin, directly into a vein.
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to use or enjoy something without restriction.
to mainline on TV movies.
verb (used with object)
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to inject (a narcotic, especially heroin) directly into a vein.
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to use, enjoy, or imbibe (something) without restriction.
mainlining coffee all day long.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of mainline
1935–40, v., adj. use of main line
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.
It is the main station for all services on the west coast mainline to England and also operates services throughout central Scotland.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Relatives of the inmates’ victims are divided over altering regulations to ensure the convicts go to Florence, rather than to the mainline prisons their disciplinary records called for.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025
On being told of Tilly’s existence by an interviewer for Variety, “Please stop,” she insisted, while demanding that mainline studios and talent agencies refrain from trafficking with AI actresses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
He used to present as a staid mainline Episcopalian, but now he denounces that church and speaks of being “mauled by demons.”
From Salon • May 19, 2025
Of a student body of 5,700, about 400 participate in one of three evangelical student groups—more than the number of active mainline Protestants, the campus chaplain says.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
