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 44-year-old was photographed greeting tennis fans on line at the tennis tournament. — Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 2 July 2026

Adjective

The brothers had once visited Miami in 2023, boasting the city was for rich people, according to one of their online videos. — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 19 July 2026

Both the facilities struck belonged to a Russian company, Wildberries, a major online retailer. — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 18 July 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