Word.ws English Dictionary

side-line

side-line is the alternative form of sideline.

Meaning of sideline

Noun

sideline (plural sidelines)

  1. A line at the side of something.
    • Like most other fishes, the dragonet varies slightly in colour in different individuals, and at different seasons of the year. Mr. Pennant describes the pupils of the eyes to be of a rich sapphirine blue; the irides fine fiery carbuncle; the pectoral fins light brown; the side-line straight; the...1809, William Nicholson, “CALLIONYMUS”, in The British Encyclopedia, or Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […], volume II (B … E), London: Printed by C[harles] Whittingham, […]; for Longman, Hurst...
  2. Something that is additional or extra or that exists around the edges or margins of a main item.
    • She started the business as a sideline to her regular work and it ended up becoming the greater source of income.
  3. A line for hobbling an animal by connecting the fore and the hind feet of the same side.
  4. A line defining the side boundary of a playing field. Used in Canadian football, field lacrosse and basketball.
    Synonyms:
    touchline
  5. (plural-normally) The area outside the playing field beyond each sideline.
    • The coach stood on the sidelines and bellowed commands at the team.
  6. (figuratively) The outside or perimeter of any activity.
    • to relegate to the sidelines

See all 10 meanings of sideline

Forms of side-line

Noun
pluralside-lines
Verb
third-person singular presentside-lines
present participleside-lining
past participleside-lined
pastside-lined

Questions about side-line

What is side-line the alternative form of?
Side-line is the alternative form of sideline.

Words near side-line in the dictionary

  1. side-handedly
  2. side-handing
  3. side-hands
  4. side-lever
  5. side-levers
  6. side-line
  7. side-lined
  8. side-lines
  9. side-lining
  10. side-loader
  11. side-loaders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: side-line (page history and authors); sideline (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “side-line.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/side-line. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.