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

Tesla’s first semi truck rolls off its high-volume production line.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

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

In addition to the Pearl plant, Shell has a 30% stake in a Qatari LNG production line that hasn’t been damaged in the war.

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

I try to give a smile of thanks, but he’s obviously still avoiding eye contact with me, so I pretend to be absorbed, observing the production line.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Related Words

• assembly line