trunk line

American  

noun

1. a major long-distance transportation line.

2. trunk.

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trunk line British  

noun

1. a direct link between two telephone exchanges or switchboards that are a considerable distance apart

2. the main route or routes on a railway

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Etymology

Origin of trunk line

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Department of Water and Power has also installed more earthquake-resistant mainline and trunk line pipes in recent years, intended to keep hospitals and other critical sites operating after a quake.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2021

This trunk line system is still in effect, and New York City has John Tauranac to thank for the easy-to-read maps of today.

From Fox News • Dec. 6, 2018

Like a utility trunk line, it is a bundle of thin strands that attach to an array of facial muscles.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 5, 2015

“The 96-inch sewer is only the trunk line, the main artery. We don’t have the veins in yet.”

From Washington Times • Dec. 14, 2014

One of these was a Franco-Belgian syndicate, which was endeavouring to obtain the trunk line from Hankow to Peking.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various