white line

noun

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Definition of white line

: a band or edge of something white; especially : a stripe painted on a road and used to guide traffic

Recent Examples of white line from the Web

Video review confirmed the trip was on the white line of the penalty area, not outside as Tunisia claimed.

— graham dunbar, chicagotribune.com, "Hazard, Lukaku net braces as Belgium rout Tunisia," 23 June 2018
The intersection where we were paused was easy to see, as was the white line indicating the correct path along the far-right fork.

— nick heil, Outside Online, "Fatmap Is Like Google Earth (on Steroids) for Hikers," 1 July 2018
While his work from that period was generally colorful, this mural was made of spare white lines of paint.

— annalisa quinn, New York Times, "Keith Haring Mural in Amsterdam Is Uncovered After Nearly 30 Years," 26 June 2018
The white line in the chart below shows wind output is poised to fall to just above 3 gigawatts by June 27, based on a Bloomberg model.

— lars paulsson, Bloomberg.com, "Europe’s Electricity Supply Could Drop Just in Time for the Next Blast of Heat," 22 June 2018
When a passing car’s front tire touched one painted white line, Rothman quickly hit a toggle switch.

— michaelle bond, Philly.com, "In Pa., local cops can't use radar to catch speeders. That could soon change," 18 June 2018
Ronaldo has turned flashiness into an art form, inside and outside the white lines of the soccer field.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Be careful how you answer," 14 June 2018
The stripes on a school uniform necktie are the same quick white lines that define the edge of the student’s sweater and the pattern of her jacket in a scene composed like a yearbook’s class picture..

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "The art of daily existence: Meleko Mokgosi's provocative show at the UCLA Fowler Museum," 7 May 2018
The Iroquois documented the border on their wampum as a white line between two black ones.

— porter fox, Outside Online, "Exploring America's Forgotten Border," 1 June 2018

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

First Known Use of white line

15th century

in the meaning defined above

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