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short line
noun
: a transportation system (such as a railroad) operating over a relatively short distance
Examples of short line in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While Sherman and Stone easily bantered, the usually witty and loquacious Kahan stood stone-still, giving wooden readings of his couple of short lines.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 25 Jan. 2024
Make short lines with a straight tip and press into wood.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Nov. 2023
To finish the look, repeat with two short lines on your temples.
—Georgia Day, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2023
There was no pushing and shoving as voters waited in short lines to decide whether the country’s longtime leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stretches his rule into a third decade or is unseated by challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has promised to restore a more democratic society.
—Matt Bradley, NBC News, 28 May 2023
But Big Sky makes a pretty good argument, combining one of the biggest arrays of terrain anywhere with short lines, lots of new restaurants and shops, and a fun atmosphere.
—Allison Olmsted, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023
As a consolation, my guides took my photo in a different tableau, one with a very short line.
—Sam Anderson, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2023
And there’s a short line between women who are incarcerated and women who are victims.
—Erika D. Smithcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2022
Socially distanced stations with medical professionals lined the gym’s perimeter, where children would typically be eating lunch, and a short line of eligible community members waited outside a school entrance that was blocked off from the rest of the building.
—Amanda Blanco, courant.com, 4 Mar. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'short 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
circa 1917, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near short line
Cite this Entry
“Short line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/short%20line. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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