sideline

[sahyd-lahyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sideline ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a line at the side of something.

a business or activity pursued in addition to one's primary business; a second occupation.

an additional or auxiliary line of goods: a grocery store with a sideline of household furnishings.

Sports.

either of the two lines defining the side boundaries of a field or court.
sidelines,the area immediately beyond either sideline, where the substitute players sit.

sidelines, the position or point of view taken by a person who observes an activity or situation but does not directly participate in it.

verb (used with object), side·lined, side·lin·ing.

to render incapable of participation, especially in anything involving vigorous, physical action, as a sport: An injury to his throwing arm sidelined the quarterback for two weeks.

Origin of sideline

An Americanism dating back to 1685–95; side¹ + line¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sideline

recreation, diversion, subsidiary, hobby, distraction, moonlighting

Examples from the Web for sideline

Contemporary Examples of sideline

The Democrats were able to sideline Kucinich and avoid a divisive impeachment battle.
Repubs Should Take It From Kucinich: Impeachment Isn’t Worth It
Eleanor Clift
December 5, 2014
Back in 2005, Franklin had referred to sideline reporter Holly Rowe as “sweetheart.”
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Pricks
Marlow Stern
July 29, 2014
Even after she left its barbed bosom, it did its best to further excommunicate and sideline her.
If Kate Middleton’s Butt Could Speak: It’s Time Royal Princesses Led Visible, Voluble Public Lives
Tim Teeman
June 4, 2014
Which sideline reporter will appear on television first after kickoff: Erin Andrews or Pam Oliver?
The Weird Wild World of Super Bowl Betting
Joe Concha
January 30, 2014
A few minutes later, Ferguson, having been revived, sat on the sideline, helmet off, hair tousled, dazed.
The Hit Heard Around the World
Rich Cohen
November 7, 2013

Historical Examples of sideline

It seemed that the sideline of mountain-tops had a little light on them.
Wandl the Invader
Raymond King Cummings
Even then he had enough surplus energy to run a sideline in literature.
A Circuit Rider's Wife
Corra Harris
The midnight hours he spent in the pineal gland were only a sideline of his work.
The Brain
Alexander Blade
An elementary school teacher who taught music as a sideline, Gladys Thompson, organized an orchestra about 1928.
Frying Pan Farm
Elizabeth Brown Pryor
The business flourished and some one advised my friend that he should put in popcorn as a sideline.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 11 (of 14)
Elbert Hubbard

British Dictionary definitions for sideline

sideline

noun

sport a line that marks the side boundary of a playing area

a subsidiary interest or source of income

an auxiliary business activity or line of merchandise

verb (tr)

to prevent (a player) from taking part in a game

to prevent (a person) from pursuing a particular activity, operation, career, etc

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

Word Origin and History for sideline

also side-line, "line on the side of a fish," 1768; "lines marking the limits of playing area" (on a football field, etc.), 1862, from side (adj.) + line (q.v.). Meaning "course of business aside from one's regular occupation" is from 1890. Railway sense is from 1890. The figurative sense of "position removed from active participation" is attested from 1934 (from the railway sense or from sports, because players who are not in the game stand along the sidelines). The verb meaning "put out of play" is from 1945. Related: Sidelined; sidelining.