1
a
: having a reputation or authority based on length or proven quality of service
an old-line firm
b
: of established prestige and influence
old-line families
2
: adhering to traditional policies or practices : conservative

Examples of old-line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Trump would also face a Congress less inclined to impose such constraints, having established ideological mastery of the Republican Party, whose old-line elites can no longer claim that his agenda is aberrant and must be resisted. Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024 Of course, if old-line insurers have an awful year in cyber, other parts of their business could provide a cushion. Jeff Kauflin, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 In the early nineteenth century, old-line Southern élites, who profited from slavery and from exports of cotton, faced competition from Northern élites, who made their money in mining, railroads, and steel. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024 Initially, the old-line studios refused to license their wares to Netflix, invoking the specter of digital piracy. Peter Biskind, Fortune, 26 Dec. 2023 Like the Mississippi River that bisects America’s heartland, these old-line markets just keep rolling along. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2023 Dual strikes pit more than 170,000 workers against old-line studios like Disney, Universal, Sony and Paramount, as well tech juggernauts like Netflix, Amazon and Apple. Nicole Sperling, New York Times, 13 July 2023 The problem: Disney still relies on old-line TV channels for a colossal portion of its profit — and those outlets are being maimed by cord cutting, sports programming costs and advertiser pullback. Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 10 May 2023 The stock market’s listings are tilted toward old-line companies in areas such as banking, energy and mining. Ben Dummett, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'old-line.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of old-line was in 1803

Dictionary Entries Near old-line

Cite this Entry

“Old-line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/old-line. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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