draw the line Definition

draw
verb drew (past tense), drawn (past participle), drawing (present participle)

tr & intr
1. To make a picture of something or someone, especially with a pencil.

Thesaurus: sketch, draft, outline, form, etch, depict, portray, describe, caricature.
2. To pull out, take out or extract something.

Example: draw water from a well
Example: with swords drawn
intr
3. To move or proceed steadily in a specified direction.

Example: draw nearer
4. To pull someone along or into a particular position.

Example: drawing her closer to him
Thesaurus: pull, drag, bring, tug, lug, tow, carry, jerk, wrench, yank, trawl, haul.
5. To open or close (curtains).
6. To attract (eg attention or criticism).

Thesaurus: lure, attract, allure, entice, persuade, influence, fascinate.
tr & intr
7. To end a game with neither side winning; to finish on equal terms with an opponent.

Form: draw with someone (also)
8. To choose or be given as the result of random selection.
9. To arrive at or infer (a conclusion).
intr
10a. )to suck air (through a cigarette);

Form: draw on (a cigarette (also)
10b. Said of a chimney: to make air flow through a fire, allowing burning.
11. technical
Said of a ship: to require (a certain depth of water) to float.
intr
12. Said of tea: to brew or infuse.
13. To disembowel.

Example: hanged, drawn and quartered
14. To write (a cheque).
15. golf.
To hit (the ball) too much to the left if right-handed, or too much to the right if left-handed.
16a. bowls.
To deliver (a bowl) so that it moves in a curve to the point aimed for;
intr
16b. bowls.
To move in a curve to the point aimed for.
17. bridge.
To force one's opponents to play (all their cards of a suit, especially trumps) by continually leading cards of that suit.
18. billiards.
To hit (the cue ball) so that it recoils after striking another ball.

noun

1. A result in which neither side is the winner; a tie.

Thesaurus: stalemate, tie, impasse, deadlock.
2a. The making of a random selection, eg of the winners of a competition;
2b. A competition with winners chosen at random.
3. The potential to attract many people, or a person or thing having this.

Thesaurus: appeal, lure, enticement, bait, attraction, pull, interest.
4. The act of drawing a gun.

Idiom: be drawn on something

To be persuaded to talk or give information.
Example: He refused to be drawn on his plans

Idiom: draw a blank

To get no result.

Idiom: draw the line

To fix a limit, eg on one's actions or tolerance.
Thesaurus: say no, set a limit, lay down the law, put one's foot down.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon dragan.

Phrasal Verb: draw back

To retreat; to recoil.

Phrasal Verb: draw back from something

To refuse to become involved in it; to avoid commitment.

Phrasal Verb: draw in

Said of nights: to start earlier, making days shorter.

Phrasal Verb: draw on something

To make use of assets from a fund or source.
Example: draw on reserves of energy

Phrasal Verb: draw someone out

To encourage them to be less shy or reserved.

Phrasal Verb: draw something out

To make it last a long time or longer than necessary.

Phrasal Verb: draw up

To come to a halt.

Phrasal Verb: draw oneself up

To lift oneself into an upright position; to straighten up.

Phrasal Verb: draw something up

To plan and write (a contract or other document).

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line¹
noun

1. A long narrow mark, streak or stripe.
2. A length of thread, rope, wire, etc used for specified purposes.

Example: a washing line
Example: mending the telephone lines
3. A wrinkle or furrow, especially on the skin.
4. math.
Something that has length but no breadth or thickness.
5. The path which a moving object is considered to leave behind it, having length but no breadth.
6. A row.

Thesaurus: rank, file, row, sequence.
7. A row of words or printed or written characters.

Example: a line from Shakespeare
8. The words of an actor's part.

Form: lines
9. An outline or shape.

Example: a car of stylish lines
Form: lines (often)
10. A punishment at school where a phrase or sentence has to be written out a set number of times.

Form: lines
11. music.
Any one of the five horizontal marks forming a musical stave.
12. music.
A series of notes forming a melody.
13. colloq
A short letter or note.
Example: drop him a line
14. A series or group of people coming one after the other, especially in the same family or profession.

Example: from a long line of doctors
Thesaurus: lineage, family, descent, ancestry, race, stock, strain, breed, bloodline, pedigree.
15. A field of activity, interest, study or work.

Example: his line of business
16. A course or way of acting, behaving, thinking or reasoning.

Example: think along different lines
17. The rules or limits of acceptable behaviour.

Example: overstep the line
18. A group or class of goods for sale.

Example: a new line in tonic water
19. A production line.
(N Amer, especially US)
20. A physical boundary. Compare limit.

Example: the county line
21. A figurative boundary or point of change.

Example: a thin line between genius and madness
22. One of several white marks outlining a pitch, race-track, etc on a field.

Example: goal line
23. A single track for trains or trams.
24. A branch or route of a railway system.
25. A route, track or direction of movement.

Example: line of fire
26. A continuous system, eg of telephone cables, connecting one place with another.
27a. A telephone connection

Example: trying to get a line to Aberdeen;
27b. A telephone number that connects the caller to some kind of special service, such as Childline or hot line.
28. A company running regular services of ships, buses or aircraft between two or more places.
29. An arrangement of troops or ships side by side and ready to fight.
30. A connected series of military defences.

Example: behind enemy lines
Form: lines (always)
31. The regular army.
32. One of several narrow horizontal bands forming a television picture.
33. The equator.

Form: the Line (often)
(N Amer)
34. A queue.
35. drug-taking slang
A small amount of powdered drugs, usually cocaine, arranged in a narrow channel, ready to be sniffed.
36. slang
A remark, usually insincere, that someone uses in the hope of getting some kind of benefit.
Example: He spun her a line
(Scots)
37. A short note written by someone in authority.

Example: The doctor's line covered her absence
(Scots)
38. A licence or certificate, eg of marriage or of church membership.

Form: lines

verb lined, lining

1. To mark or cover something with lines. See also white line.
2. To form a line along something.

Example: Crowds lined the streets

Idiom: all along the line

At every point.

Idiom: be in someone's line

To be the kind of thing someone is comfortable with.
Example: Dealing with children is not in her line

Idiom: bring someone or something into line

To make them or it conform.

Idiom: down the line

Said of the action of a ball, shot or player: very close to the edge of the court or pitch.

colloq
In the future.

Idiom: draw the line

See under draw.

Idiom: end of the line

colloq
The point at which it is useless or impossible to carry on.

Idiom: get a line on someone or something

colloq
To get information about them or it.

Idiom: hard lines!

colloq
Bad luck!

Idiom: in line for something

Likely to get it.
Example: in line for promotion

Idiom: in line to someone

In a line of succession.
Example: second in line to the boss

Idiom: in line with someone or something

In agreement or harmony with them or it.

Idiom: lay it on the line

To speak frankly.

Idiom: lay something on the line (put something on the line)

To risk one's reputation or career over something.

Idiom: on the lines of something (along the lines of something)

Sticking loosely to a specified way of doing it.

Idiom: on the right lines (along the right lines)

colloq
Approximately correct.

Idiom: out of line

Not aligned.

Impudent.

Exhibiting unacceptable behaviour.

Idiom: read between the lines

To understand something which is not actually stated.

Idiom: step out of line

See under step.

Etymology: 13c: from French ligne, combined with Anglo-Saxon line rope.

Phrasal Verb: line people or things up

To form them into a line.To align them.

Phrasal Verb: line something up

To organize it.
Example: lined herself up a new job

Phrasal Verb: line up

To form a line.To make a stand, eg in support of or against something. See line-up.