1A long, narrow mark or band.

一连串间隔很小的点看起来像一条线。

我画线画不直。

1. 1.1Mathematics A straight or curved continuous extent of length without breadth.
   〔数〕直线；曲线
   Example sentencesExamples

   • In the latter work al-Tusi discussed objections raised by earlier mathematicians to comparing lengths of straight lines and of curved lines.
   • This work attempted to solve the problem of constructing a line of the same length as an arc of a circle.
   • Mathematically this means that the Greeks needed to construct a line of length equal to the cube-root of 2.
   • So the length of the circumference of the circle is expressed in terms of the lengths of straight lines.
   • Mill takes lines without breadth and points without length to be limit concepts.
2. 1.2 A direct course.
   直线
   the ball rose in a straight line

   球直线上升。

   her mouth set in an angry line

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The village at the focus of the local community lay about two miles from the farm along the roads but just a mile away in a direct line.
   • Their car was catapulted into a tree after being shunted from behind by a van driven by a man so drunk he could not walk in a straight line, a court heard yesterday.
   • If everyone just took off and went in a direct line to the destination, there would be utter chaos.
   • For the first time in 122 years, earth and Venus will be in a direct line with the sun.
   • When my turn comes, my task sounds simple; to sail in a straight line and then tack.
   • A properly set alignment must always be in a direct line with the intended target.

   Synonyms

   course, route, track, channel, path, way, run
3. 1.3 A furrow or wrinkle in the skin of the face or hands.
   （手，脸部皮肤上的）纹路，皱纹
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Her hair, tied at the back with a pencil, is flecked with the odd strand of grey and, of course, there are lines on her face.
   • Skin damage, including lines and wrinkles, can actually start showing up in your 20s.
   • She smiles and even giggles constantly, and her otherwise flawless creamy complexion is delicately etched with laughter lines.
   • She was quite old, judging by the wrinkles and lines on her face and the gray in her hair.
   • The oxygen and nutrient deficiencies caused by too much smoking result in premature lines on the skin and a loss of natural elasticity.
   • The injection works by temporarily paralysing the muscles around the forehead, eyes and brow that make wrinkles and lines in the face as people age.
   • Dehydration leads to dry skin, lines and premature ageing.
   • Although the effects of laser resurfacing can last for years, wrinkles and expression lines recur as skin ages.
   • The topical application of specific peptides helps soften lines and wrinkles around your mouth, eyes and forehead.
   • She looked virtually the same as when I'd last seen her, though perhaps a closer vantage point would have let me see more wrinkles and lines.
   • The effects on wrinkles such as the frown line, forehead creases and crow's feet last for four to six months.
   • Proteins help strengthen and increase the thickness of the skin, making it less prone to fine lines and wrinkles.
   • I had six injections in the area from the bridge of my nose to my forehead to take out the frown lines between my brows, and two at the corners of my eyes where my laughter lines are deepest.
   • We use lasers to treat blemishes, thread veins, remove tattoos, and carry out skin resurfacing to remove lines.
   • His hair is graying already, he has grey stubble on his chin, wrinkles, laugh lines, and crows feet.
   • The camera focuses on the wrinkled laughter lines around the man's eyes.
   • However, the flower's oil contains a unique ingredient which can reduce wrinkles and fine lines on the face by up to 30%.
   • Age creeps up on all of us, from the first delicate lines spidering around our eyes in our twenties to the heavier frown lines and crow's feet of middle age.
   • Inherited patterns of ageing begin to show in our thirties and fine lines and wrinkles may start to appear.
   • Chemical peels smooth out rough skin and minimize fine lines.

   Synonyms

   wrinkle, furrow, crease, crinkle, crow's foot, groove, corrugation
4. 1.4 A contour or outline considered as a feature of design or composition.
   轮廓，轮廓线
   crisp architectural lines

   明快的建筑轮廓。

   mass noun the artist's use of clean line and color

   艺术家对流畅线条和色彩的使用。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The clean lines and the simple shapes are compelling in their quiet beauty and grace.
   • Smooth sensual lines and bold designs feature in a combination of glazed and matt finishes for a stylish contemporary result.
   • Its chunky industrial design is in sharp contrast to the bike's clean lines.
   • Natural, free-flowing lines and materials showing strength and force characterize Chen's work.
   • The crisp lines and stylish designs of a Brooks Brothers suit are always totally appropriate for the times.
   • The house was built in 1925, and it is part Mediterranean villa, part palazzo, with modern lines and open spaces.
   • I also discovered the Cinema Impero with its clean, geometric lines and porthole windows.
   • Simple lines and soft tones combine to produce a minimalist decor which doesn't suffer from coldness or lack of personality.
   • A white china sink and ceramic hob complement the crisp clean lines.
   • Her rings, necklaces and cufflinks combine clean, modern lines with an array of glowing colours.
   • The lines are crisp; colors are bold and vibrant without being oversaturated.
   • Evergreen plants have been used for centuries to mark out the lines of a garden.
   • Cattrell wants us to feel the landscape: its surreal contours, unnatural lines and hidden secrets.
   • A BMW's design is classic and timeless, with clean, sleek lines and distinct details.
   • His face was elegant, the graceful lines of his features nearly too perfect.
   • Only the clean lines of the stage design serve to evoke the starkness of the northern landscape.
   • The magnificent master bedroom is elegantly curved in shape, has clean sweeping lines and luxurious en-suite facilities.
   • The brilliant color and vivid lines of the work of Avi Ben-Simhon evoke a feeling of joy and happiness.
   • Classics are styles that have been popular for years because of their clean lines and utilitarian features.
   • We set off eastwards along the valley following the line of the mountains.
   • Her designs have elegant lines and show a strong contrast of materials, for example, the combination of leather and lace.
   • This urban contemporary collection keeps things in perspective with simple forms, clean lines and subtle shapes.

   Synonyms

   contour, outline, configuration, shape, figure, delineation, silhouette, profile, features
5. 1.5 (on a map or graph) a curve connecting all points having a specified common property.
   （地图或图表上相同事物间的）连线
   Example sentencesExamples

   • One can look at mathematical collaborations as a graph - an array of points connected by lines.
   • If you remember back to an economics class you might have taken, much time was spent on the intersection of lines in those graphs.
   • He takes the line on the graph in Mr Hocking's report as indicative of the margin of difference.
   • The screen pulled up in front of her shows a slightly fluctuating graph with two thin lines.
   • The graph line runs pretty much the same five years before and five years after.
6. 1.6 A line marking the starting or finishing point in a race.
   （赛跑）起跑线；终点线
   Example sentencesExamples

   • He flew of out of the blocks with a reaction time of 0.104 of a second to cross the line ahead of Chambers.
   • In fleet racing, the dominant type at the Olympics, the first to cross the line wins the race.
   • Earlier, Goodison had failed to go back after being over the start line when racing belatedly began an hour late.
   • In the Pirelli Trophy, Michael Cullen finished second, crossing the line ahead of Paddy Shovlin.
   • It was great to see so many young athletes on the starting line for every race.
   • Keelboats will have a separate start line in the deeper water, according to the organisers.
7. 1.7 A line marked on a field or court that relates to the rules of a game or sport.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The home favourite served for the match and closed it out on a second match point with a backhand down the line.
   • The keeper raced off his line but collided with his own centre back and that allowed Amjad Iqbal to net a far post header.
   • He was held up five metres from the line and might have scored had he not changed direction at the last moment.
   • The Belgian took the second set when she clubbed a forehand down the line.
   • The backs set up a strong attacking position and the forwards forced the ball over the line from close range.
   • Foster used his speed to make the touchdown a split second before the ball crossed the deadball line.
   • First he drove just wide, then had a shot blocked before his third effort was cleared off the Newport line by Mark Fletcher.
   • The ball was hacked clear and after some indecision in the home rearguard Enda Muldoon raced over the try line.
   • The shot in the first half might have been over the line, although TV pictures seemed to suggest otherwise.
   • He was tackled a metre short of the line but momentum and a good long arm saw him touch down in style.
8. 1.8American Football The line of scrimmage.
9. 1.9the Line The equator.
   赤道
10. 1.10 A notional limit or boundary.
    （观念上的）界限
    the issue of peace cut across class lines

    和平问题超越了阶级的界限。

    television blurs the line between news and entertainment

    电视使新闻和娱乐之间的界线变得模糊。

    Example sentencesExamples

    • It has sparked debate in the US over whether the highly patriotic tone crossed the line into jingoism.
    • Experienced editors can tell when a reporter crosses the line and becomes an advocate.
    • In the sponsorship of the arts there is a fine line between class and crass.
    • A lot has been made over the last couple of years of the lines being blurred between news and entertainment.
    • There are growing divisions along racial, religious and class lines.
    • The acts are intended to blur the lines between the audience and the performers.
    • Mr Owen applied for planning permission to erect a wooden fence and a shed on the boundary line.
    • He has blurred the thin line that separates an actor from a director/writer.
    • The company insist that their experiments are not in any way intended to blur the lines between human and animal.
    • Support of educational reform, or any sort of reform, must cut across party, political and class lines.
    • Of course the line between research and its implementation is a fine one.
    • Teachers earn less than 100 dollars a month; rural workers live below the line of extreme poverty; public universities are forced to fight each other over reduced resources.
    • In southern Louisiana, a fierce love of place cuts across lines of class and religion.
    • Supporters are divided along political lines, even within single clubs.
    • What was probably intended as tragedy, came across as cheap exploitative television, blurring the lines between fiction and fact.
    • A number of audience members are seated at tables on stage further blurring the lines between the performers and the audience.
    • We have all been guilty of it: blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
    • The communications revolution has blurred traditional class lines.
    • The major policy issues of any modem presidency cut across all those old boundary lines.
    • The line between television drama and film is blurred even more here.

    Synonyms

    boundary, boundary line, limit, border, borderline, bound, bounding line, frontier, partition, demarcation line, dividing line, end point, cut-off point, termination, edge, pale, margin, perimeter, periphery, rim, extremity, fringe, threshold
11. 1.11 Each of the very narrow horizontal sections forming a television picture.
    行（形成电视图像的横向细狭区）
    Example sentencesExamples

    • If your receiver drifted out of sync, the picture dissolved into meaningless dots and lines.
    • Once again, Baird television sets were on sale, this time at the new television standard of 625 lines.
12. 1.12Physics A narrow range of the spectrum that is noticeably brighter or darker than the adjacent parts.
    〔物理〕（光谱上明显比相邻部分亮或暗的）谱线
    Example sentencesExamples

    • The new method enabled him to measure the wavelengths of the spectral lines more precisely.
    • They proposed the name of rubidium for the element because of the dark red color of the most prominent of its spectral lines.
    • Each of the lines in a spectral series corresponds to a characteristic frequency or wavelength.
    • He found spectral lines that had never been observed before and decided that they were produced by a new element.
    • The extremely narrow lines of the solar spectrum require filters with correspondingly high resolution.
13. 1.13the line The level of the base of most letters, such as h and x, in printing and writing.
    字母底部水平线（印刷和书写中大部分字母底部所在的水平位置，如在h和x中）
14. 1.14Computing Printing as modifier Denoting an illustration or graphic consisting of lines and solid areas, with no gradation of tone.
    〔印刷，计算机〕线条的（由线条和实心部分构成插图或图形，且无色彩的深浅变化）
    a line block

    线条块。

    line art

    线条艺术。

    Example sentencesExamples

    • You may have noticed I've been switching around the line art images at the top of the page.
    • The line art is black on a red background, which is a poor way to view line art.
    • This is the first stage of my cover artwork idea - black and white line art.
    • It supports a huge variety of line styles so you can create complex illustrations.
15. 1.15 Each of (usually five) horizontal lines forming a staff in musical notation.
    （五线谱中的）谱线
    Example sentencesExamples

    • The traditional notation system of five lines on a paper is not the main method of training.
16. 1.16 A sequence of notes or tones forming an instrumental or vocal melody.
    曲调
    a powerful melodic line

    有力而悠扬的曲调。

    Example sentencesExamples

    • Their sound combined walls of noise with unsettling calm, screeching vocals and to-die-for bass lines.
    • Scott and Dankworth were blown away by the melodic lines of modern jazz and its soulful use of chord substitutions, ninths and flattened fifths.
    • The play their own unique style of melodic lo-fi indie rock, with flowing guitar lines, soft vocals and fat drums and bass.
    • Wayne Shaw and Stephen Dunn layer complementary guitar parts over Brad Higgins' melodic bass lines.
    • Their style is melodic driving rock, with textured guitars and strong vocal harmony lines.
    • The Davis group used simple melodic lines over supercharged rhythmic complexity and the results are still being digested today.
    • The flute carries the melodic lines throughout with the piano providing the simple accompaniment.
    • There's also space for keyboards, strings and other textures to dip in and out amongst the emotionally charged vocals and haunting guitar lines.
    • These three études are difficult virtuoso works with lush musical lines.
    • There's some interesting vocal lines throughout, though nothing instantly memorable.
    • This ranks among the most spectacular music of its age, with its thrilling textures and virtuoso vocal lines.
    • Folk songs work well, but pop music of any kind or any period will do as long as it has relatively simple melody lines.
    • There is too much pulling about of the melodic line in the first movement for my taste.
    • I try to deliver the vocal lines as best I can, my own way.
    • The bass line from the music system must have been audible in Greenwich.
    • Simon manages to imply whole whirling masses of emotional upheaval in but a few words and lines of melody.
    • The album marks a slight return to more elaborated ambiences and more defined melodic lines, yet Ford firmly remains on minimal grounds here.
    • In the finest folk tradition, the melody lines are long and abundantly worded.
    • If rap or trance music with pounding bass lines is your staple musical diet, you had better look elsewhere.
    • Moochin has a decisive Latin American feel, with rich ensembles, intricate horn and rhythm lines and a feisty alto solo from Joel Purnell.
17. 1.17informal A dose of a powdered narcotic or hallucinatory drug, especially cocaine or heroin, laid out in a line.
    〈非正式〉长条（卷成长条的粉末状毒品，尤指可卡因，可随时吸食）
    Example sentencesExamples

    • He said that on one occasion the couple had been heard having an argument about which of them would chop lines of cocaine or feed their dog.
    • If potheads are entitled to their drug of choice, why not those who prefer a line of Charlie?
    • He also told the jury he had had four lines of cocaine and ten pints of lager that evening.
    • The rest of the band snorted lines, but Mick stayed back with a drink.
    • Now, I have the odd pint and maybe the odd line of cocaine on a special occasion.
    • Richard cut up the cocaine into two lines with a bank card he took from his wallet.
    • He bent his head back to the powder and inhaled the line through the straw.
    • A line of cocaine is now cheaper than many high-street cups of coffee.
    • He told police that he had snorted two lines of cocaine that evening, December 11 last year, but claimed the drug had no effect.
    • She would be there doing heroin and I started off by just having a line on the foil.
    • They'd laid out little lines of the white powder on a mirror.
    • Leeds Crown Court heard all three were drinking before the attack while Johnston had also snorted four lines of cocaine.

2A length of cord, rope, wire, or other material serving a particular purpose.

拧干衣服挂在绳子上。

电话线。

1. 2.1Medicine A length of sterile tubing inserted into a vein or artery in order to provide temporary access, typically so as to administer fluids or withdraw blood.
   he's having an op this morning to put a line in his chest for IV drugs
2. 2.2 A telephone connection.
   电话通话
   she had a crank on the line

   她在打电话时突发奇想。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • High voltages can enter your computer through the phone line connected to the modem.
   • The high winds just blew away the infrastructure, broadband connections snapped and telephone lines went dead.
   • ‘We were ringing and texting all day but of course the lines were down,’ said Patricia.
   • The majority of schools were using telephone lines to access the internet, and less than one third had ISDN connections.
   • The failure at the Kendal plant also meant that smaller links serving other areas of Cumbria were unable to provide land lines or internet access, he said.
   • The lab is connected to the Museum by a video-conference system and ISDN lines.
   • Calls to mental health crisis lines provided by voluntary and religious groups have doubled in five years.
   • The phone lines have been cut, and a snowstorm makes outside contact next to impossible.
   • I also left voicemail for both of them on their direct line - they are apparently rarely in the office.
   • The state of the infrastructure is poor with low quality telephone lines and little if anything in the way of broadband.
   • Some areas of the building have suffered from minor glitches, including an inability to get direct lines into some phones.
   • There was a two or three-minute delay and then a man's voice came on the on the line.
   • To find out more about the show, call the Kemble event information line on 0903 023320.
   • They gave me a direct line, which was a relief, instead of those infuriating 0800 numbers.
   • On the line was an anxious colleague from the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union.
   • We reported on Tuesday that we were unable to contact the Scottish club, after repeatedly trying to call the club on a direct line.
   • Indeed, such was the amount of calls coming in that the lines were engaged on a regular basis and many just could not get through on the night.
   • I could hear Dad's voice on the end of the line.
   • Meanwhile, officers at some stations found they could not get an outside line from landline phones.
   • Telephone lines were jammed and mobile phone services briefly crashed as panicked residents called family and friends.
3. 2.3 A railroad track.
   铁轨
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Police have put out a summer holiday alert after youngsters were seen dicing with death on railway lines near York.
   • Rail passengers and a van driver had an amazing escape after his vehicle crashed on to the main Colchester to London line.
   • Many of these trees are found alongside the many railway lines which cross the borough.
   • Residents in Station Road are angry that trees have been chopped down to prevent leaves falling on to the railway line.
   • It's not only children that trespass on railway lines.
   • The animal was released back into the wild at the Leeds and Liverpool canal in Ince near the spot on the railway line where he was found.
   • They laid down 60,000 kilometres of railway lines almost a century back.
   • The danger for fire fighters was that they could not use water on the blaze because the line was electrified.
   • Increasingly high-profile and hard-hitting campaigns have been aimed at keeping children away from railway lines.
   • In recent years, most steel rails from abandoned lines have been sold to China, he said.
   • Transport police have released a description of a teenager found dead on a railway line in Kearsley in an attempt to identify him.
   • Railroad officials dismantled the line and removed all vestiges of the iron rails.
   • The operation was aimed specifically at restoration of damaged infrastructure such as roads, bridges and railway lines.
   • A new footbridge on the A1036 will take pedestrians over the railway line.
   • Reports of a youth on the line at a level crossing yesterday sparked an alert on the railways.
   • Around the country train services were hit as workers blockaded railway lines.
   • Children playing on the railway lines risk electrocution or being hit by a train while vandalism costs millions every year
   • Last week in South Yorkshire a metal pole was placed on a railway line which pierced the underneath of a passenger carriage.
   • He then managed to find a hole in the fence by the railway line and ran onto the tracks.
   • The lorry cab came to rest on the railway line, where a freight train then ploughed into it, pushing it down the track.
4. 2.4 A branch or route of a railroad system.
   铁路网的一支（或一段）
   the Philadelphia to Baltimore line

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It was the opening of a railway line in 1945 which facilitated this business opportunity.
   • Trains on the Hull-Scarborough line regularly rumble past their doors, but there is no stop within easy reach.
   • Friday night saw long tailbacks on motorways as drivers took to the road and a weekend of engineering works on a number of key railway lines began.
   • CIÉ had drawn up plans to close a number of railway lines late last year and suspend some freight services as part of a drive to cut costs.
   • I'm now sat on the train from London to Braintree, a town at the end of a branch line off the main capital to coast route.
   • The strike paralysed the underground system as all lines were affected by cancellations.
   • The minister said he would not preside over the closure of any railway lines.
   • Even now it is not too late to link the railway lines in and around the city, including the far suburbs, and provide a safe public transport system.
   • Meanwhile a public notice alerted the public to a meeting to raise interest in extending the railway line to Kettlewell.
   • Visions of a metro system, light railways, reopened suburban lines and new tram links have been held out in front of us.
   • Other than the expressway, two dedicated railway lines have been planned to connect Bangalore to Devanahalli.
   • There was flooding of the Leeds-Carlisle and York-Darlington railway lines.
   • The closest train station, the Telecom Center Station, is on the Yurikamome Line.
   • After the service began in 1984, property values rose all along the line from Howth to Bray and under-used sites were developed for apartments or offices.
   • It was suggested that up to 65,000 passengers could be using the railway if the line ran from Pickering to Whitby.
   • Retime one train and you could mess up connections at half a dozen stations further down the line.
   • Bradford has for too long languished at the end of two dead-end railway lines and one dead-end motorway.
   • I fail to see how a signal failure that far down the line can have an effect as far back as White City.
   • The coastal railway line runs parallel to the sea and a large area near the track is railway reservation land.
   • Both main railway lines between Scotland and England were shut after severe weather lashed the north of the country on Friday.
5. 2.5 A company that provides ships, aircraft, or buses on particular routes on a regular basis.
   （航运、航空、汽车客运）公司
   a major shipping line

   一家大规模航运公司。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The choice of cruise lines and cruise ships is pretty bewildering.
   • As a result, shipping lines may have no alternative but to cut services.
   • All the major lines offer a number of routes and cruise itineraries for the Caribbean.
   • By 1914 it had become one of the most innovative shipping lines in the world, and dominated the Southern Hemisphere.
   • Local shipping lines currently account for only 5.4 percent of the shipment of goods into and out of the country.
   • The cruise lines like big ships because they're more profitable, carry more passengers and require less crew.
   • Yes, there is life even after retirement with plenty of openings in ship building industry and shipping lines.
   • One more refuge from the office phone calls looks set to disappear soon, as cruise lines fit antennas to ships so that mobile phones work at sea.
   • They are the only operator of these ultra-large ships, although other lines have them on order.
   • Scottish shipping lines did well out of the migration, taking Jews to the east of Scotland and then on across the Atlantic from the Clyde.
   • In the 1880s the MS&LR's fleet was replaced and other shipping lines were attracted.
   • Choosing the right cruise line and cruise itinerary can be somewhat of a challenge.
   • The fishing interests were sold, and the shipping line split into a separate company that may be floated in two years.
   • Already, the major shipping lines want to reduce the number of calls made to ports in north-west Europe.
   • The decline in container volume was mainly due to the loss of a contract for the shipping line ANZDL.
   • Your magazine has been of great value to me in selecting vacation destinations, cruise lines, and ships.
   • The odd thing about being an executive chef for a posh cruise line is you spend more time on planes than boats.

3A horizontal row of written or printed words.

1. 3.1 A part of a poem forming one row of written or printed words.
   （书写或印刷的）行
   each stanza has eight lines

   每一诗节有八行。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The opening line of a poem or a song is intended to announce the work's theme strongly and clearly.
   • Take a romantic song lyric and personalize it by changing a few words or a line or two.
   • If you read these lines out loud, you can hardly avoid getting an impression of the intended rhythm.
   • He concluded by quoting a line from a poem by Petrarch.
   • The fourteen lines of the poem mimic the standard fourteen-line form of the sonnet.
   • The concluding lines of the poem stress the power the experience still holds.
   • Valery subtly suggests the progression of evening in the language of the second quatrain's closing lines.
   • Written in iambic pentameter, it is comprised of two stanzas of four lines each, rhyming abab.
   • The two lines from a poem quoted on the fourth page should have been credited to Dylan Thomas.
   • The same thing happens in the second two lines of the first stanza.
   • The Eclogues, four short poems, 319 lines in all, are strongly influenced by Virgil and Calpurnius.
   • All of these lines are from singles which were top 40 hits in the UK in 2001.
   • That is surely a possible alternative reading of the poem's final lines.
   • The closing lines of this poem verify the poet's intense intellectual and emotional engagement with nature.
   • There are no quotation marks to indicate these lines are by another author than Burns.
   • For her cadences, she went mainly to Protestant hymns, with their steady iambic lines of eight or ten syllables.
   • The competition for the meeting is for the best poem of eight lines about autumn.
   • Eliot's lines from the first section of The Waste Land reflect the speakers's inability to give voice to her feelings.
   • Bear in mind that the poem is more than 21,000 lines of blank verse - about twice the length of Paradise Lost.
   • Besides, quoting a few lines from a poem at a party will make people think you're terribly sophisticated!
   • The poems can be on any subject, in any form, and there is a line limit of 30 lines.

   Synonyms

   sentence, phrase, group of words, prosodic unit, construction, clause, utterance
2. 3.2lines The words of an actor's part in a play or film.
   （话剧或影片的）台词
   Example sentencesExamples

   • They gave her a thick script and told her she had two weeks to learn her lines for the television show.
   • At his cue, Jeremy sprang onto the stage, ready to recite his lines.
   • Here are your scripts, practice your lines and be ready in 2 days.
   • We have all seen this movie a hundred times and can pretty much speak all the actor's lines from memory.
   • Everyone cringes when an actor flubs his lines or when a skater trips over her toes.
   • Busy with his own show, he had little time for learning lines and so wrote them on his arm for the opening night.
   • A good script is worthless unless you have good actors to deliver the lines well.
   • If an actor forgot his lines, a special button was pressed to cut off the sound to the viewer.
   • Like an ageing actor he muddled his lines and and missed his cues.
   • His singing and dancing are comparatively weak, and he speaks all of his lines with an undisguised Australian twang.
   • There is more to putting on the play than merely learning your lines and standing in a designated position.
   • He was always on time and ready with his lines, if not exactly sober.
   • He sees how each scene should look, how the music should feel, how the actors should speak their lines.
   • Apparently, the series is shot without a script and the cast are given scene outlines and often improvise lines as they go.
   • De France dubs her own lines in the English sections, by the way, and it makes a big difference.
   • As a result, many of the actors scream their lines as if they're on the verge of hysterics.
   • He told his actors to speak their lines as if they were speaking to themselves.
   • But, the moment she began speaking her lines, everyone was as in awe of her as I had been at auditions.
   • He spoke his lines in English and then had them dubbed by an Indian voiceover actor.
   • From the evidence of this movie, he may well be the worst actor alive: he speaks his lines as if he only recently learned how to talk.

   Synonyms

   words, role, part, script, speech, dialogue
3. 3.3linesBritish An amount of text or number of repetitions of a sentence written out as a school punishment.
   （学校惩罚学生）抄写课文（或句子）的量
   Example sentencesExamples

   • His detention turns out to be much more unorthodox than writing a hundred lines.
   • At school he had to draw pictures instead of doing lines as punishment.

4A row of people or things.

一排祭台助手通过走廊。

1. 4.1North American A row or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn to be attended to or to proceed.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The women set all the food out on the picnic tables and soon a line formed as people got their food..
   • But the jobs we are talking about, there are not long lines of Americans ready to take them.
   • Have you ever seen a leader standing in a line to purchase train tickets or paying his personal bills?
   • International connections were impossible also and long lines formed at pay phones.
   • In other parts of the world, the book is already available, and the lines out front of bookstores are staggering.
   • It was also the fastest moving line I have every been in at the airport.
   • I enter the post office and take my place at the back of the line that stretches from the counter all the way through the large room, out the door, and into the lobby area.
   • Panhandlers and street sleepers proliferate in New York, and soup kitchen lines have become noticeably longer.
   • It took me less than 15 minutes yesterday to fill the car with gasoline as there were only 11 vehicles waiting in the line ahead of me.
   • I've seen lines out the door for people waiting to check in to the hotel.
   • We do pay-per-view at seven in the morning in pubs, and we get lines out the door.
   • You name what you want, buy the coupons, and then join the line before the serving counters.
   • More tired and thirsty than they had ever been, Kada and Sead finally reached the front of the line, ready to scramble aboard a bus.
   • Standing in the line ahead of me was Rob, hopping from foot to foot, clutching at a delivery slip.
   • I am not angry with anyone but it is unfair to lot of people like me to do everything they're supposed to do while refugees and asylees can simply jump the line ahead of everybody else.
   • At the American supermarket I learnt that we must join the line, not the queue.
   • Caitlin raced into an immigration line, grabbing her half finished card.
   • A woman in the line ahead of me kept up a running commentary on whether to have a soda or a soft ice - cream, but when she finally reached the counter there was no soft ice cream left.
   • The man who'd been ahead of them in the line ended up sitting five or six people away.
   • The coffee shop was crowded now but he pushed his way to the front of the line at the counter.
2. 4.2 A connected series of people following one another in time (used especially of several generations of a family)
   家族，家系
   we follow the history of a family through the male line

   我们通过男性家系追溯家族的历史。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Boys were desirable because they carried on the family name, which was passed on through the male line.
   • Expert practitioners in Japan can trace their family lines back through 43 generations of Ikenobo masters.
   • The family line is passed through the male heir and so it is important to people to have a male offspring.
   • Now, the pendant passes down the female line in our family, given to each woman on her wedding day.
   • All titles were heritable and followed the male line of descent almost exclusively.
   • Ms King said the skills are passed through the family line but not necessarily from mother to daughter.
   • Constantine's ancestry in the male line was Gaelic, like most Pictish kings in the 9th cent.
   • Charlie has broken the generational pattern of anger and abuse in his family line.
   • Plaques and stones dotted along pavements and hidden in backstreets commemorate those who died, and those family lines that were ended by the bomb.
   • This story has supposedly been passed all the way down the line, directly from Tara.
   • He was the best of his family but the male line is extinguished.
   • There's fine breeding stock in there, if only he knew it, and I feel it is my duty to help him propagate the family line.
   • Mrs Clarke herself lives in Winchester and is keeping the family line going with a daughter and three grandchildren.
   • The male family line had served in the armed forces for generations.
   • If you want to learn about magic, chances are you weren't the first in your family line to have that calling.
   • By the middle of the tenth century the last Danish king had been driven out of England and the West Saxon line now ruled the whole country.
   • Mrs Caywood-Guffy has traced her family line back to an ancestor who lived in Cawood in 1200.
   • The Jesse Tree is a type of Family Tree - the family line from which Jesus the Saviour was born.

   Synonyms

   ancestry, family, parentage, birth, descent, lineage, extraction, derivation, heritage, genealogy, roots, house, dynasty, origin, background
3. 4.3US (in football, hockey, etc.) a set of players in the forwardmost positions for offense or defense.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Birk made the Pro Bowl last season and is the most talented player on the offensive line.
   • He's not the biggest or strongest player in the line, but he's savvy and is like a coach on the field.
   • Perhaps no other part of football is so overlooked as the intricacies of the offensive line.
   • There are too many holes remaining on defense and not enough talent on the offensive line.
   • The team reshuffled its defensive line in an effort to get its most experienced players on the field.
   • He put other big players in the forward line, distracting the opposition from Neitz.
   • This club is far more physical up front on the offensive line and the defense is running wild.
   • Ruegamer can play any position on the offensive line but is best when used inside.
   • That would force a young player or rookie to start on an offensive line already lacking depth.
   • A few months ago the best forward line in football was Luis Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo.
   • Brad Scioli is proving to be one of the more versatile and valuable players on the defensive line.
   • He wants to run the ball and win the game on the offensive and defensive line.
   • He's at his best when positioned near the line and allowed to attack the offense or stuff the run.
   • One player to build around is Orpheus Roye, who has been the line's steadiest player.
   • The club generally likes to select players who can play more than one line position.
   • Two key players to watch on the offensive line are tackles Kwame Harris and Jonas Jennings.
4. 4.4American Football One of the positions on the line of scrimmage.
5. 4.5 A series of related things.
   一排人（或物）
   the bill is the latest in a long line of measures to protect society from criminals

   该法案是一长串保障社会安全防止犯罪措施中的最新举措。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The drug has been hailed by some as a mental Viagra, the latest in a line of designer drugs that don't so much cure ills as improve quality of life.
   • The new out-patient department is the latest in a line of enhanced services being provided from the hospital.
   • Three wheelie bin blazes in the early hours of Thursday are the latest in a line of 24 arson attacks in the last year.
   • Norwich Union is the latest in a long line of financial services companies to move call centre jobs to India.
   • Last night a spokesman for Leeds United said that the leaflet was the latest in a long line of measures aimed at stamping out the problem.
   • One worker at the restaurant said it was the latest in a long line of attacks involving youngsters from the school.
   • It was the latest in a long line of frustrating races for Coulthard.
   • It would be the latest in a line of discount chains in the town, which already include KwikSave, Farmfoods and Aldi.
   • After all, Coetzee is widely considered as following in the line of Kafka and Beckett.
   • Capt Rimington and his son come from a long line of distinguished Naval officers.

   Synonyms

   series, sequence, succession, chain, string, train
6. 4.6 A range of commercial goods.
   （商品的）类，品种
   the company intends to hire more people and expand its product line

   该公司打算雇佣更多的员工并增加产品品种。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Increased scale will allow the co-op to drive down unit costs across their branded and own-label product lines.
   • Cost is again an issue, because expanding product lines would slow down production.
   • Rose has taken only a few days to prove to investors that he may have the answers to the long-running issues of poor stock and low market share in certain product lines.
   • Now he hoped to expand his line of products and services by taking advantage of the Web.
   • Bradford supermarket giant Morrisons has taken 44 product lines off its shelves.
   • It's not surprising, then, that the demand for new products and new lines at Wal-Mart is unending.
   • He later diversified into the toy market and the company supplies major retailers with over 800 lines of toys.
   • Expect discounts of 35 per cent on most ranges with selected lines at half price.
   • This meant a change in product lines and a revamp of the brand.
   • Intel cited broad success across all of its major product lines during a healthy third quarter.
   • The following year, they introduced their first two organic product lines.
   • The company has streamlined its existing product range and launched the new lines after extensive consumer research.
   • We thought it would be a good idea to give you a broad overview of the many product lines out there with some background information and attributes of each product.
   • Automotive history is replete with instances where luxury brands expanded their lines downmarket.
   • Her Adidas tennis dresses and her own much-publicised line of sport bras are making her millions.
   • Shareholders can expect to see a continued roll-out of new product lines and distribution channels.
   • Tills and customer service desks have been moved, with more space being provided for extra product lines.
   • Across the country, companies are halting projects and dropping product lines.
   • Half of the product lines were shipped out, mostly to low-wage countries, including Mexico.
   • The line will feature all manner of garments, from party dresses to sweaters.

   Synonyms

   brand, kind, sort, type, variety, make, label, trade name, trademark, registered trademark
7. 4.7US The point spread for sports events on which bets may be made.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The line, published in many daily newspapers, establishes for bookmakers and bettors across the continent the team favored to win each game and by how many points.

5An area or branch of activity.

他们这一行业所特有的压力。

1. 5.1 A direction, course, or channel.
   方向；路线；渠道
   he opened another line of attack

   他开辟了另一条进攻路线。

   lines of communication

   联系渠道。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • We'll have to wait and see what the reasons are but there are essentially two overlapping lines of attack.
   • For most campaigners, the line of attack is education, education and more education.
   • Sometimes the various lines of attack become crossed.
   • The Public Health Unit director said an annual vaccination was the best line of defence against the flu.
   • Well, since it's a legitimate line of attack, I think we should explore it a little further.
   • It allowed the Germans to concentrate against the expected line of attack.
   • My first line of attack would have to be improving the management of the country's security services.
   • Smoke alarms are the first line of defence against fire and international research indicates that a working smoke alarm reduces the risk of death in a fire by nearly 50%.
   • Contemporary opponents of liberalism prefer indirect lines of attack.

   Synonyms

   course of action, course, procedure, mo, technique, way, tactic, tack, system, method, process, manner
2. 5.2lines A manner of doing or thinking about something.
   （思考、处事）方式
   you can't run a business on these lines

   你不能用这种方式经营企业。

   the superintendent was thinking along the same lines

   主管人也以同样的方式思考问题。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Taken alone, this line of argument presents a weak case against the single tax.
   • You may disagree with it, but it's social policy on the same lines as that toward drug users or speeders.
   • He really didn't like this line of questioning, but he felt trapped.
   • The album was launched with a big bang, and the band was promoted on the same lines as girl bands abroad.
   • The final point I would like to make is that I understand that the Australians adopted legislation along these lines some time ago.
   • Apparently they haven't bothered to follow this line of reasoning to its obvious conclusion.
   • And last night I had a conversation with my dad along the same lines.
   • Two independent lines of evidence provide support for our conclusion.
   • In some ways NHS policy is moving along the same lines.
   • Gardai confirmed yesterday that they have a definite line of enquiry in connection with this robbery.
   • More witnesses have come forward in the past week providing officers with new lines of inquiry.
   • A drugs overdose is one line of inquiry police have been investigating.
   • John Manley, former Deputy Prime Minister, has argued along the same lines.
   • There is a shortage of Olympic-size pools and most of these are run on commercial lines, so British swimming cannot afford priority access.
   • Over 30 years ago undergraduate physics labs in Glasgow University were run on very similar lines to the Oxford system you describe.
   • We both seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
   • This has led me to instruct the State Security Corps not to rule out any line of investigation.
   • You are more likely to have major breakthroughs when your line of thought isn't being interrupted.
   • In 1820 Schumann was sent to the local Gymnasium, where his education proceeded on traditional lines.
   • These lines of research can better inform prevention and intervention programs for adolescent problems.

   Synonyms

   course of action, course, procedure, mo, technique, way, tactic, tack, system, method, process, manner

   course, direction, drift, tack, tendency, trend, bias, tenor
3. 5.3 An agreed-upon approach; a policy.
   策略；政策，路线；看法
   the official line is that there were no chemical attacks on allied troops

   官方的看法是盟军部队未受到任何化学武器的攻击。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Under his tenure its political line has been marked by a further shift to the right.
   • The SNP is giving its MSPs a free vote on this, not least because it has yet to establish a common line.
   • Do you think that the High Court's line on this issue is, at the end of the day, a sensible one?
   • This Government has been prepared to take a tough line on crime and sentencing.
   • A foreign ministry spokeswoman insisted the government was taking a firm line on corruption.
   • He would like to see the courts taking a tougher line with young troublemakers.
   • He took a libertarian line on drug supply, but had rather stern views on consumption.
   • The senior civil servants are expected to brief their departmental ministers according to the agreed line.
   • EU governments were expected to agree a common line on the issue at a meeting in Belgium this weekend, he said.
4. 5.4informal A false or exaggerated account or story.
   〈非正式〉骗人的话，不实之词
   he feeds me a line about this operation

   关于这次手术，他对我讲了些骗人的鬼话。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • As far as opening lines go, it wasn't horribly original but, at the time, I really didn't care.
   • Australian workers have been fed this line for over a decade now and the end result is we're working harder than ever with less job security.
   • Luckily for her, she had a line ready when guys hit on her.
   • Of course, his convincing line to me was that his only interest in America was the fact that he found me here.
   • He's small and chunky, with an inexhaustible supply of chat-up lines.
   • The more you hear this line repeated throughout the season, the more trouble the Yankees are in.
   • As such he might be expected to trot out the line about how every game will be crucial, and what a marvellous cricketing spectacle it will be.
   • The chairman stated that the company is back on track, but that line has been around for a while and investors do not seem to be buying it.

   Synonyms

   patter, story, pitch, piece of fiction, fabrication

6A connected series of military fieldworks or defenses facing an enemy force.

敌后袭击。

1. 6.1 An arrangement of soldiers or ships in a column or line formation; a line of battle.
   战斗编队；阵线
   Example sentencesExamples

   • At the top of this descent stood a single soldier encouraging the line to move ahead more quickly.
   • The battle lines are gradually becoming apparent in the Nice Treaty campaign.
   • The massive line of rebel soldiers became clear as the cloud of smoke began to thin.
   • After the Social Liberal walk-out on June 20, the battle lines became clear.
   • The viewer, like the soldiers, has no clear sense of the battle lines.
   • After a series of running fights between detachments, each side managed to form a battle line.
   • Toward the end of the war, units were changing their offensive tactics from massed lines to small groups.
   • On the battlefield a bugle plays reveille and the lines of soldiers stir, ready to surge forward.
   • Rather than working on adversarial battle lines, the ideal Prime Minister works towards constructive solutions.
   • His status as the son of a U.S. Senator landed him a cushy desk job in cozy surroundings far distant from the battle lines.
   • He drew up his knights and his two thousand foot soldiers in a line outside the city.
   • The battle lines were so close together that the sounds of the opposing army's music carried through the forest.
   • Someone shouted that the enemy was charging; the reserve lines readied their cartridges.
   • At night, I make another sortie to the battle lines, armed with my mask.
   • The battle lines in the war over judges have been clearly marked between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.
   • Taylor was marching beside Shane when he heard a ruckus at the end of the line of soldiers.

   Synonyms

   file, rank, column, string, chain
2. 6.2the line Regular army regiments (as opposed to auxiliary forces or household troops).
   （正规）战斗部队

1Stand or be positioned at intervals along.

挥舞旗帜的人们在两旁列队的游行队伍路线。

2usually as adjective linedMark or cover with lines.

一个满脸皱纹的瘦削女人。

划线纸。

3Baseball
Hit a line drive.

1Cover the inside surface of (a container or garment) with a layer of different material.

有聚乙烯内衬的篮子。

1. 1.1 Form a layer on the inside surface of (an area); cover as if with a lining.
   给…铺内衬
   hundreds of telegrams lined the walls

   几百份电报像铺衬里似的贴在墙上。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • There is no clear theme, but enlarged historical photos of the area line the upper walls.
   • When Corrigan opened the large French doors there was a large patio area with hundreds of swords lining the walls.
   • Flowers covered the whole chapel and pictures of him lined the room.
   • Studies have shown that gut cancers are not purely genetic and can be modified by diet as the walls of the gut are lined with a layer of cells called the epithelium.
   • The cells line an area of human lungs that helps our bodies absorb oxygen and shed carbon dioxide.
   • The thin bones within the nasal cavity are lined with a membrane containing a very rich supply of blood vessels.
   • There are so many records and CDs lining the living room walls that it looks as if they are embedded into the foundations.
   • All vessels are lined with a single layer of flattened cells called the endothelium.
   • The thyroid and epiglottis are connected by ligaments and membranes and lined on the inner aspect by respiratory mucosa and muscles.
   • Allergies and colds can cause the membrane that lines your middle ear to become inflamed and overproduce mucus.
   • It strikes the synovium, the thin layer of tissue lining the area of a joint where two bones meet.
   • The venous sinuses are lined not by endothelium but by specialized reticular cells, which are fixed macrophages.

   Synonyms

   cover, put a lining in, back, put a backing on, interline, face, panel, inlay, reinforce, encase