story line

British

noun

the plot of a book, film, play, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Real life is less faithful to that neat story line, according to Tyler Goodspeed, a Harvard and Cambridge-trained economic historian and the chief economist of Exxon Mobil.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

Microdramas hew to an established formula, with each installment ending on a cliffhanger that pushes its often preposterous story line toward a final, usually shocking reveal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Don’t expect the biggest media-industry story line of 2025 to die down anytime soon.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

Vonn’s remarkable and inspiring comeback from injuries and a seven-year hiatus from top-level competitive skiing has injected the U.S. team narrative with an irresistible story line.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

Or did my mind, right before it left, leave behind this story line?

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023