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

See Examples For:

trunk line

The agency anticipates replacing just over a mile of trunk line across the city this fiscal year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

There are more than 40 trunk line projects in the agency’s capital improvement plan, which will be in construction from now until 2057.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

There are about 547 miles of trunk line underground across the city and 6,780 miles of distribution pipes, or main lines, in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Workers had already repaired the 3-foot-wide trunk line and were backfilling the area at about 8:30 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

They're coming from southward, and if they'd left the trunk line soon after the Vancouver train came in they would get here about now.

From A Prairie Courtship by Bindloss, Harold