What does line mean?

What does line mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does line mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] a formation of people or things one beside another(the line of soldiers advanced with their bayonets fixed they were arrayed in line of battle the cast stood in line for the curtain call)[v] be in line with; form a line along(trees line the riverbank)[n] a mark that is long relative to

line

line - The Free Dictionary

[n] a formation of people or things one beside another
(the line of soldiers advanced with their bayonets fixed they were arrayed in line of battle the cast stood in line for the curtain call)

[v] be in line with; form a line along
(trees line the riverbank)

[n] a mark that is long relative to its width
(He drew a line on the chart)

[v] cover the interior of
(line the gloves line a chimney)

[n] a formation of people or things one behind another
(the line stretched clear around the corner you must wait in a long line at the checkout counter)

[v] make a mark or lines on a surface
(draw a line trace the outline of a figure in the sand)

[n] a length (straight or curved) without breadth or thickness; the trace of a moving point

[v] mark with lines
(sorrow had lined his face)

[n] text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen
(the letter consisted of three short lines there are six lines in every stanza)

[v] fill plentifully
(line one's pockets)

[n] a single frequency (or very narrow band) of radiation in a spectrum

[v] reinforce with fabric
(lined books are more enduring)

[n] a fortified position (especially one marking the most forward position of troops)
(they attacked the enemy's line)

[n] a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning
(I can't follow your line of reasoning)

[n] a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power

[n] a connected series of events or actions or developments
(the government took a firm course historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available)

[n] a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent

[n] a slight depression in the smoothness of a surface
(his face has many lines ironing gets rid of most wrinkles)

[n] a pipe used to transport liquids or gases
(a pipeline runs from the wells to the seaport)

[n] the road consisting of railroad track and roadbed

[n] a telephone connection

[n] acting in conformity
(in line with he got out of line toe the line)

[n] the descendants of one individual
(his entire lineage has been warriors)

[n] something (as a cord or rope) that is long and thin and flexible
(a washing line)

[n] the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
(he's not in my line of business)

[n] in games or sports; a mark indicating positions or bounds of the playing area

[n] (often plural) a means of communication or access
(it must go through official channels lines of communication were set up between the two firms)

[n] a particular kind of product or merchandise
(a nice line of shoes)

[n] a commercial organization serving as a common carrier

[n] space for one line of print (one column wide and 1/14 inch deep) used to measure advertising

[n] the maximum credit that a customer is allowed

[n] a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
(she was humming an air from Beethoven)

[n] persuasive but insincere talk that is usually intended to deceive or impress
(`let me show you my etchings' is a rather worn line he has a smooth line but I didn't fall for it that salesman must have practiced his fast line of talk)

[n] a short personal letter
(drop me a line when you get there)

[n] a conceptual separation or distinction
(there is a narrow line between sanity and insanity)

[n] mechanical system in a factory whereby an article is conveyed through sites at which successive operations are performed on it

Other vocabulary

l, l'aquila, l'enfant, l-dopa, l-p, l-plate, l-shaped, l. m. montgomery, l. monocytogenes, l. ron hubbard, l. s. lowry, la, la crosse, la fayette, la fontaine, la paz, la plata, la rochefoucauld, la spezia, la tour, la-di-da, laager, lab, lab bench, lab coat, laban, labanotation, labdanum, label, labeled, i, i chronicles, i corinthians, i esdra, i john, i kings, i maccabees, i peter, i samuel, i thessalonians, i timothy, i-beam, i. a. richards, i. f. stone, i. m. pei, i.d., i.e., i.e.d., i.q., i.w.w., ia, iaa, iaea, iago, iamb, iambic, iambus, ian douglas smith, ian fleming, ian lancaster fleming

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.