sounding line

American  

noun

1. a line weighted with a lead or plummet sounding lead and bearing marks to show the length paid out, used for sounding, as at sea.

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sounding line British  

noun

1. a line marked off to indicate its length and having a sounding lead at one end. It is dropped over the side of a vessel to determine the depth of the water

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Etymology

Origin of sounding line

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sounding line

We were speaking just now of the white clay brought up from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean by the sounding line.

From Twilight and Dawn Simple Talks on the Six Days of Creation by Pridham, Caroline

Shorten your sails, said the pilot; fetch the sounding line; we must double that point of land, and mind the sands.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 4 by Motteux, Peter Anthony

We must frequently throw out the sounding line into the shifting sea of possibility in order to find secure anchorage.

From The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Cumont, Franz

In fact, nothing delayed immediate departure but the consideration that two miles of sounding line were still to be hauled up from the ocean depths.

From All Around the Moon by Roth, Edward

The lieutenant wanted two men to keep it out in the current while he used the sounding line and recorded results.

From Overland by De Forest, J. W. (John William)