dragline

noun drag·line \ ˈdrag-ˌlīn \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of dragline

1 : a line used in or for dragging

2 : an excavating machine in which the bucket is attached by cables and operates by being drawn toward the machine

3 : a strong stiff strand of silk produced by a spider especially to form the framework of its web and as a means of lowering itself from and returning to a height

Recent Examples of dragline from the Web

Tom worked as a dragline operator many years before employment at Broward Schools in the Central Warehouse.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 3/23," 23 Mar. 2018
Tom worked as a dragline operator many years before employment at Broward Schools in the Central Warehouse.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 3/23," 23 Mar. 2018
Tom worked as a dragline operator many years before employment at Broward Schools in the Central Warehouse.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 3/21," 21 Mar. 2018
Researchers had already identified two genes for the class of silk known as major ampullate, which forms the superstrong dragline threads that anchor webs and are the inspiration for a major effort to make spider silk commercially (see p. 293).

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Spider genes put a new spin on arachnids’ potent venoms, stunning silks, and surprising history," 19 Oct. 2017
The dream is to mimic the toughest of spiders' seven types of silks: the dragline that spiders hang from, which incorporates several kinds of silk proteins.

— robert f. service, Science | AAAS, "Spinning spider silk into startup gold," 18 Oct. 2017
Monstrous draglines gouged into spare mesas, and smog settled over valleys and obscured mesa and mountain views.

— jonathan thompson, New Republic, "Trump Is Big Coal’s Last Gasp," 21 Sep. 2017
But, the dragline silk underwent permanent molecular deformation upon twisting.

— lakshmi supriya, Science | AAAS, "Scientists uncover trick to spider’s stealth," 14 July 2017
Hence Widmaier’s pride at having produced fifty ties, each of which contains the equivalent of ninety kilometres of dragline spider silk.

— nicola twilley, The New Yorker, "In the Future, We’ll All Wear Spider Silk," 12 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dragline.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.