trunk line

noun

1

: a transportation system (such as an airline, railroad, or highway) handling long-distance through traffic

2

a

: a main supply channel (as for gas or oil)

b

: trunk sense 5b

Examples of trunk line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, trunk lines appear to be in better condition than the utility’s mainlines. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

These dampers act as a block at the main duct trunk line, causing your system to function like there isn’t a vent in that particular room at all. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 30 May 2026

The $3 million request would support construction of the one-mile sanitary sewer trunk line along 159th Street and Cedar Road, connecting to the existing Fiddyment Creek sewer line. — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026

Quiñones said the tanks, which supply pressure for hydrants in the hilly Palisades, couldn't refill fast enough as firefighting efforts drained water faster than the main trunk line could supply it. — Laura Doan, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for trunk line

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• brucine
• byline