on line

1 of 2

phrase

: in or into operation

bringing the new factory on line

online

2 of 2

adjective

on·​line ˈȯn-ˈlīn  ˈän-ˈlīn 

: connected to, served by, or available through a system and especially a computer or telecommunications system (such as the Internet)

an online database

also : done while connected to such a system

online shopping

online games

online searching

online adverb

Examples of on line in a Sentence

Adjective

The city libraries are all online.

He likes to engage in online chats.

Recent Examples on the Web

Phrase

The accelerator relies on line-replaceable units (LRUs) to generate short, high-energy pulses that power the electron beam used to create X-rays. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 26 July 2026

On a recent Saturday, Teo Bugbee was on line with 20 or so other people outside a Bed-Stuy brownstone, waiting to get a look at what seemed like a unicorn apartment. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 21 July 2026

Adjective

An executive nobody had heard of became a target of online attacks for the offense of trying to turn around a fading chicken and biscuits restaurant. — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026

But the federal probe into the Kalshi trading prompted rival online prediction platform Polymarket to cut ties with Santos in June. — CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1950, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing on line

• massively multiplayer online game

Rhymes for on line

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

Kids Definition

online

adjective

ˈȯn-ˈlīn, 

ˈän-

: relating to or connected to a computer or telecommunications system (as the Internet)

an online database

online adverb