as in traditional
tending to favor established ideas, conditions, or institutions
an old-line professor who still taught as if it were 1930
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Recent Examples of old-line
And for the first time, top Wall Street banks weren’t just attracting WASP or old-line German Jewish men with family ties to banking, the historic mainstays of the finance world.
—
Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
The larger, at 31 Pratt, is the former headquarters of Society for Savings, an old-line bank whose roots stretched back to 1819.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 9 Apr. 2026
Under this scenario, the public models will start to look like old-line enterprise software companies, taking in proprietary data, fine-tuning a version of their public model to be private, and then running that model for the customer.
—Forrester, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026
These firms had been the envy of the old-line investment banking houses.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 1 Mar. 2026
More practically, people on Netflix’s side might say that further industry consolidation is inevitable, given changing consumer habits and shifting business models for old-line media companies.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
That has included a growing number of tech and IT firms taking their place, pushing off the likes of print publishers and old-line industrial companies in the process.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Among the festival organizers, Yarrow was an advocate for the topical songwriting and contemporary sounds that some old-line folk aficionados resisted.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
The larger, at 31 Pratt, is the former headquarters of Society for Savings, an old-line bank whose roots stretched back to 1819.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 9 Apr. 2026
Under this scenario, the public models will start to look like old-line enterprise software companies, taking in proprietary data, fine-tuning a version of their public model to be private, and then running that model for the customer.
—Forrester, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026
These firms had been the envy of the old-line investment banking houses.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 1 Mar. 2026
More practically, people on Netflix’s side might say that further industry consolidation is inevitable, given changing consumer habits and shifting business models for old-line media companies.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
That has included a growing number of tech and IT firms taking their place, pushing off the likes of print publishers and old-line industrial companies in the process.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Among the festival organizers, Yarrow was an advocate for the topical songwriting and contemporary sounds that some old-line folk aficionados resisted.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for old-line
Adjective
-
In addition to traditional treatments, there are holistic therapies like sound healing, Reiki, and shirodhara, an ancient Ayurvedic remedy.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 May 2026
-
Set along the Ashley River, guests learn traditional crabbing techniques while gaining insight into the Gullah Geechee heritage, local ecosystem, and history of the Lowcountry.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Religion News Service reports the speakers are almost entirely conservative Christians, a key part of the president’s political base.—
Joseph Bonasia,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 May 2026
-
The two Republicans, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton, spoke of a halcyon California destroyed by feckless Democrats and vowed a return to those days.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The documentary traces Hier’s path from an orthodox Jewish enclave to international prominence as the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In the nineteen-seventies, Franciscan University, a small school on a hill above the downtown, became a center for charismatic Catholicism, an expressive, theologically orthodox movement that paralleled the development of the evangelical Jesus People and secular hippie culture.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Old-line.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/old-line. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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