color line

noun

variants US color line or British colour line

plural color lines

: a set of societal or legal barriers that segregates people of color from white people (as by restricting social interaction or requiring separate facilities) and prevents people of color from exercising the same rights and accessing the same opportunities as white people

—usually used with the

His father … had grown up in California with Jackie Robinson, who broke the color line in Major League Baseball.

—Maureen O'Donnell

called also color bar

Examples of color line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The ceremony, after all, was held at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, which had a strict color line. — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026

To ensure a seamless, natural-looking dye job, Monzillo recommends using a little bit of Vaseline on and around your hairline to prevent any color lines from sticking around. — Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 1 Nov. 2026

None of that success saved him from the color line that excluded Black players from what was known at the time as Major League Baseball. — Zachary Kranc, Sun Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2026

And of course, the stadium wouldn’t be complete without paying tribute to Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color line in 1947. — Michael Gioia, Architectural Digest, 22 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for color line

• alkaline
• andesine
• anodyne
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• benzidine
• borderline
• byzantine
• calamine
• caroline
• centerline