production line

American  

noun

1. an arrangement of machines or sequence of operations involved with a single manufacturing operation or production process.

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production line British  

noun

1. a factory system in which parts or components of the end product are transported by a conveyor through a number of different sites at each of which a manual or machine operation is performed on them without interrupting the flow of production

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Etymology

Origin of production line

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Iranian missiles struck Shell’s Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar, damaging one production line expected to be shut for at least a year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

The Air Force placed its final order for Reapers in 2020 and manufacturer General Atomics closed the production line last year after building 575 of the drones.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

In an inconspicuous building near the UK's Mildenhall air base, drone manufacturer Ukrspecsystems is opening a new production line, like other Ukrainian arms companies looking to secure supply chain and boost capacity.

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

In January, Tesla announced it would cease production of its high-price, low-volume Model S and X vehicles and convert that capacity into a robot production line.

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

Irene Morgan worked at the Baltimore-based aircraft manufacturer Glenn L. Martin Company, assigned to the production line of the B-26 Marauder.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• assembly line