fishing line

noun

: a long line or cord attached to a hook and used for fishing

also : the type of line designed for this purpose

a length of fishing line

—used specifically for a strong, usually monofilament cord made from a polymer (such as nylon or Dacron)

… is held firm in the pot by plaster of paris and covered with sphagnum moss bound with clear fishing line.

—Patricia Leigh Brown

Just about any string, cord or thread will do for a kite line, but because the best line supplied adequate strength with minimal wind resistance and weight, a thin, strong line is clearly better than a thick, weak one. Monofilament fishing line has both qualities, but many kiters shun it for the same reason fishermen curse it: it gets hopelessly tangled up in itself.

—Robert Kimber

Examples of fishing line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Kiffin cut the fishing line. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025

His efforts have now pulled more than 45,000 pounds of garbage from area waterways and recycled more than 8,000 miles of fishing line. —Kathleen Toner, CNN Money, 7 Dec. 2025

In August, a charter fisherman found Molly, an approximately 25- to 30-year-old loggerhead, trapped by commercial fishing lines tethering her to a crab trap. —George Solis, NBC news, 28 Nov. 2025

People go there for everything from frozen fruit to fishing line, underwear to bullets. —Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fishing line

• acridine
• alkaline
• andesine
• anodyne
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• atropine
• benzidine
• borderline
• byzantine
• calamine