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

The analysts also noted an increase in attacks targeting the Russian economy more broadly, such as strikes on the warehouses of Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries. — Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026

Then, later that same day, Reid took to her Instagram story to seemingly dismiss the online chatter about the latest casting news. — Jack Dunn, Variety, 8 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