sideline

American  

[sahyd-lahyn] / ˈsaɪdˌlaɪn /

noun

• sidelines
  plural

1. a line at the side of something.

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

3. an additional or auxiliary line of goods.

   a grocery store with a sideline of household furnishings.

4. Sports.

   1. either of the two lines defining the side boundaries of a field or court.

   2. sidelines, the area immediately beyond either sideline, where the substitute players sit.

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

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verb (used with object)

• sidelines,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sidelined,
  past participle,  past
• sidelining
  present participle

1. 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.

sideline British  

/ ˈsaɪdˌlaɪn /

noun

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

2. a subsidiary interest or source of income

3. an auxiliary business activity or line of merchandise

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verb

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

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sidelines
  plural

Participles

• sidelining
  present
• sidelined
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sideline
  simple
• sidelines
  simple
• have sidelined
  perfect
• has sidelined
  perfect
• am sidelining
  progressive
• are sidelining
  progressive
• is sidelining
  progressive
• have been sidelining
  perfect progressive
• has been sidelining
  perfect progressive

Past

• sidelined
  simple
• had sidelined
  perfect
• was sidelining
  progressive
• were sidelining
  progressive
• had been sidelining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sideline
  simple
• will have sidelined
  perfect
• will be sidelining
  progressive
• will have been sidelining
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sideline

An Americanism dating back to 1685–95; side ¹ + line ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sideline sidelines sidelined sidelining

And if you’re still worried, there’s a radio in the helmet for the sideline to communicate with the QB.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

After setting the tone defensively against the Kings, forwards Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle watched from the sideline Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Before a first down play from the Cleveland 20-yard line, Rodgers could be seen staring at the Pittsburgh sideline with his arms spread out, apparently waiting to receive the play from McCarthy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

This time, it’s with Mendoza, who won last season’s college football national championship with Indiana and now has the luxury of learning Kubiak’s system from the sideline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

I’m happy to let him sit on the sideline while I get stronger and faster.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

“I don’t believe in saying now what I might do at the meetings that we have in the balance of this year,” Warsh said on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meeting in Bangkok.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026

With sellers unwilling to drop to prices that would bring home hunters off the sidelines in big numbers, the best that buyers can hope for is that their incomes grow faster than home values.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The week will also see several key meetings on the sidelines, including of G20 finance ministers, where spiking bond yields will be high on the agenda.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Hincapie has suffered from muscular issues this term and now faces an anxious wait to discover whether he requires another spell on the sidelines.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Instead, he was relegated to the sidelines as a marginal player while Johnny-come-latelies like Hamilton and Madison occupied center stage.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

But by April, county officials were feeling sidelined.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Lakers star Luka Doncic puts on a show with Walker Kessler and Austin Reaves sidelined by injury in a 127-103 preseason win over the Sacramento Kings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

So the thigh injury that ruled him out against the Czech Republic was a blow to Scott and England - as well as Bournemouth, who fear he will be sidelined for two months.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

With consumer debt cheap and federal regulators sidelined, debt collection giants are increasingly turning to litigation to secure payouts.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

Had she had so much passion, so much energy, for him that she’d sidelined the main thing in her life, the one thing she wanted more than anything else?

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

So much can go wrong if he’s pitching, and any pitching injury could have the double whammy of sidelining him as a hitter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

His government nationalized hotels, closed casinos and turned to Soviet-backed sugar exports for revenue, sidelining tourism for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

And while previous TV adaptations root into the emotional interiority of their male characters while sidelining female desire, “The Forsytes” places more narrative purpose in the hands of its women.

From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026

She has aimed to burnish her personal stardom at every turn, staging aggressive crackdowns and sidelining officials who suggested a more cautious approach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

From trade deals to cars, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are increasingly joining forces to steer the EU agenda -- risking sidelining French President Emmanuel Macron.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

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