line drive

noun

: a batted baseball hit in a nearly straight line usually not far above the ground

Examples of line drive in a Sentence

He hit a hard line drive to the shortstop.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kyle Schwarber and Will Smith hit back-to-back singles with two out in the eighth before Roman Anthony’s RBI single on a line drive to left field. —Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026

Klassen, who was hit in the head by a line drive last season at Double-A, went to the ground to avoid a line drive that was caught by shortstop Yolmer Sanchez. —Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026

With a runner on first, Australia’s Rixon Wingrove smashed a line drive to right-center field that Lee tracked down with a game-saving sliding catch, preserving the five-run lead. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026

With the bases loaded and one out, Levenson delivered the separator, ripping a two-run line drive into right-center to stretch the lead to 4-0. —Noah Gulley, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for line drive

• overdrive
• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive
• connive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• revive
• survive
• dive

Kids Definition

line drive

noun

: a batted baseball hit not far above the ground in a nearly straight line