line
(gen)
ligne f
a straight line une ligne droite
→ a diagonal red line
Draw a line under each answer. Tirez un trait sous chaque réponse.
Draw a line down the centre of the page. Tirer un trait vertical au milieu de la page.
to draw a line between
(=distinguish) opérer une distinction entre
It's not possible to draw a distinct line between the two categories. Il n'est pas possible d'opérer une distinction claire entre ces deux catégories.
to draw the line at sth se fixer qch comme limite
to draw the line at doing sth se fixer comme limite de ne pas faire qch
They would draw the line at hitting an old lady. Ils se fixeraient comme limite de ne pas frapper les vieilles dames.
(=shape) lignes fpl
→ There is a new romanticism this season: a softer style and a more graceful line
an evening dress that follows the line of the body une robe du soir qui épouse les lignes du corps
(=wrinkle) ride f
→ He has a large, generous face with deep lines.
→ a hand covered with fine lines
washing line corde f à linge
→ She hung her washing on the line.
fishing line ligne f
then the line went taut c'est alors que la ligne se tendit
a piece of fishing line
(=wire) un bout de fil à pêche
(=rope) corde f
→ He cut the motor on the dinghy and threw a line over the big samson post.
telephone line ligne f
a bad line, It's a very bad line. La ligne est très mauvaise.
→ High winds had brought the lines down.
the line was dead il n'y avait pas de tonalité
→ It's not a very good line. Shall I call you back?
to hold the line, Hold the line, please. Ne quittez pas.
[+writing] ligne f
I only read the first few lines. Je n'ai lu que les premières lignes.
to drop sb a line *
(=write to) écrire un mot à qn
to read between the lines
(=understand hidden meaning) lire entre les lignes
[+poem, play] vers m
→ the most famous line in English poetry
to learn one's lines
[actor] apprendre son texte
→ He's learning his lines for the school play.
(=row, series) rangée f
→ long lines of trees
(=queue) file f
a line of women queueing for bread une file de femmes faisant la queue pour du pain
I joined the line and waited. J'ai rejoint la queue et attendu.
to stand in line (mainly US)
to wait in line (mainly US) faire la queue
→ I had been standing in line for three hours.
to cut in line (US) passer avant son tour
to be in line for sth être en lice pour qch
→ He must be in line for a place in the team.
(=series of goods) ligne f
a new line of computer printers une nouvelle ligne d'imprimantes
a new line in cosmetics une nouvelle ligne de produits de beauté
(=field)
[+worker] branche f
What line are you in? Vous êtes dans quelle branche?
in his line of business dans sa branche
railway line ligne f
→ Leaves on the line are an expensive problem for the railways.
They had taken the wrong line on the London Tube. Ils avaient pris la mauvaise ligne dans le métro londonien.
They've got to ride all the way to the end of the line. Il faut qu'ils aillent à l'autre bout de la ligne., Il faut qu'ils aillent jusqu'au terminus.
repairs to the line les réparations des lignes
(=view) ligne f
the official line la ligne officielle
the official line of the Labour Party la ligne officielle du parti travailliste
(=position)
to take the line that ... se ranger à l'opinion que ...
→ most took the line that while they didn't agree with him, they respected his ability and authority.
→ The British therefore took the line that they would not suppress the Communists.
to take a hard line on sth adopter une ligne dure vis à vis de qch
→ The government has taken a hard line on immigration.
(=agreement)
in line with aligné (e) sur
→ The structure of our schools is now broadly in line with the major countries of the world.
to bring sth into line with sth aligner qch sur qch
→ This brings the law into line with most medical opinion.
to fall into line
(=conform) rentrer dans le rang
→ Britain and the others fell into line
to step out of line
(=fail to conform) sortir du rang
→ Anyone who steps out of line will be in trouble.
to be out of line
(=out of order)
You're way out of line. Tu dérapes complètement.
on the right lines
(=generally correct) sur la bonne voie
→ Our forecast for 1990 was on the right lines.
to be on the line
[job, position, reputation] être dans la balance
to put sth on the line
(=endanger) mettre qch dans la balance
He wouldn't put his career on the line to help a friend. Il n'était pas prêt à mettre sa carrière dans la balance pour aider un ami.
somewhere along the line
(=at some point) à un moment ou à un autre
Somewhere along the line he picked up an engineering degree. À un moment ou à un autre, il a décroché un diplôme d'ingénieur.
lines
npl
(=outline)
[+car, body] lignes fpl
an evening dress that follows the lines of the body une robe du soir qui épouse les lignes du corps
[+clothes] doubler
→ A winter coat needs to be properly lined.
to line sth with sth doubler qch avec qch
[+box, basket] tapisser
→ Scoop the weed out and use it to line hanging baskets.
the muscles that line the intestines les muscles qui tapissent les intestins
to line sth with sth tapisser qch de qch
→ Line the drawers with paper.
→ Bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass
[trees, crowd] border → Crowds lined the route. → a square lined with pubs and clubs
advice line
n service m de conseil par téléphone
→ For help on crime prevention, call our 24-hour advice line.
assembly line
n chaîne f de montage
below-the-line promotion
n (BUSINESS) hors-média m
→ The advertising campaign will be supported by a PR and below-the-line promotion ...
bikini line
n ligne f du maillot, maillot m
bottom line
n
(=key point)
the bottom line is that ... l'essentiel, c'est que ...
that's the bottom line c'est le vrai problème
(FINANCE)
(=profitability) résultat m (net), ligne f de résultat
→ The integration of the various businesses is at last having an impact on GUS's bottom line.
→ A more rigorous focus on the bottom line seems to be working.
(=lowest price) prix m le plus bas
→ The bottom line <p> £133.50 <p> for three nights
branch line
n ligne f secondaire
chat-up line
n (British)
That's his usual chat-up line. C'est son entrée en matière habituelle pour draguer. *
chorus line
n (in musical)
troupe f
→ She began her professional career in the chorus line of Oklahoma.
commuter line
n (on railway network)
ligne f de banlieue ligne ferroviaire empruntée principalement par des personnes faisant la navette entre leur domicile et leur lieu de travail ligne ferroviaire empruntée principalement par des personnes faisant la navette entre leur domicile et leur lieu de travail
→ ... the busy commuter lines between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
date line
n (GEOGRAPHY) ligne f de changement de date
dividing line
n
(=difference) frontière f
→ What makes one woman beautiful, and another only pretty? What is the dividing line?
→ often the dividing line is blurred.
the dividing line between [+two things] la frontière entre
→ There's a very thin dividing line between joviality and hysteria.
(=boundary) ligne f de démarcation
the dividing line between la ligne de démarcation entre
→ ... people on both sides of the dividing line between Israel and the occupied territories.
dotted line
n
ligne f pointillée
→ Cut along the dotted line.
to sign on the dotted line (lit) signer sur les pointillés, signer sur la ligne pointillée
→ Once you sign on the dotted line you're committed.
(fig) donner son consentement
→ know your rights before you sign on the dotted line
fault line
n
(in the earth's surface)
ligne f de faille
(in system, process)
(=weakness) faille f
→ These issues have created a stark fault line within the Peace Process.
finishing line , finish line
n ligne f d'arrivée
→ The crowd started screaming as she crossed the finish line.
firing line , firing-line
n ligne f de tir
→ Any hostages in the firing line would have been sacrificed ...
→ He was sure he would pin down the enemy between two firing lines.
to be in the firing line (lit) être dans la ligne de tir
(fig)
(=under attack) être sous le feu des attaques
→ Foreign banks are in the firing line too ...
→ Young players found themselves too much in the firing line.
fishing line
n ligne f de pêche
front line
n
(in war)
première ligne f
on the front line en première ligne
→ ... a massive concentration of soldiers on the front line.
to be in the front line (fig) être en première ligne
→ Allen will be in the front line as Granada faces some of its toughest challenges
→ hard-nosed jobs where you're always in the front line
→ Information officers are in the front line of putting across government policies.
front-line
adj
[troops, news] du front
[countries, areas] limitrophe (d'un pays en guerre)
→ ... the front-line states bordering South Africa.
[worker, service] de première ligne
→ a front-line management job
→ the multifarious "challenge" of working in a front-line public service.
goal line , goal-line
n ligne f de but
halfway line
n (RUGBY) ligne f médiane
international date line , International Date Line
n
the international date line la ligne de changement de date
▲
line up
vi s'aligner, se mettre en rang(s)
→ The children lined up under the shade of the roof.
to line up to do sth s'aligner pour faire qch
→ When Yann Soloy was substituted, players lined up to congratulate him
(=put in a line) aligner
→ The men were lined up against a wall.
→ I would line up my toys on this windowsill and play.
(=organize) mettre sur pied
→ Bob Dylan was lining up a two-week UK tour.
→ I've lined up a cheap trip to Nice later this year
to be lined up
[plan, party, visit] être mis (e) sur pied
→ A formal party was lined up.
to have sth lined up
(=planned) avoir qch en vue, avoir qch de prévu (e)
→ if you've got a winter-sports holiday lined up
We may need to have an alternative lined up. Nous pourrions avoir besoin de prévoir une solution de remplacement.
(=get ready)
[+person, people] aligner
I had lined up a wonderful cast. J'avais aligné un casting merveilleux.
to have sb lined up avoir qn sur les rangs
→ Who have you got lined up for tonight's show?
to have a buyer lined up avoir un acheteur sur les rangs
to be lined up to do sth être pressenti (e) pour faire qch
→ Timothy Spall was lined up to play Mr Pickwick.
→ she has also been lined up to become a joint presenter
line dancing
n danse f en ligne
line drawing
n dessin m au trait
line feed
n interligne m
line judge
n juge mf de ligne
line manager
n (British) supérieur (e) m/f hiérarchique
line of attack
n
(=approach) plan m d'action
line of communication
n ligne f de communication
line of fire
n ligne f de tir
line of sight
n
(=view) champ m de vision
→ She sat down very conspicuously in my line of sight
→ their line of sight blocked by hordes of jostling hacks
[+gunman] ligne f de mire
→ Jack wasn't in my line of sight any more. I angled the gun towards him
line of vision
n champ m de vision
→ Any crack in a car windscreen always seems to be right in the driver's line of vision.
line-out
n (RUGBY) touche f
line-up
n
[+people, things] affiche f
a line-up of musicians and comedy acts une affiche constituée de musiciens et de sketches
Heading this year's line-up is Elton John. Elton John est la tête d'affiche de cette année.
→ a line-up of two winds, piano, two or three strings
→ a line-up of hot new literary talents
police line-up parade f d'identification, séance f d'identification
→ She picked him out of a line-up at the police station.
(SPORT)
(=team) composition f de l'équipe
→ the England line-up for their match against Poland
main line
n
[+railway] grande ligne f
→ The advantage of Weybridge is that it's on the main line.
outside line
n ligne extérieure
→ I can't get an outside line.
party line
n
(POLITICS) ligne f du parti
→ They could be guaranteed to follow the party line on all issues.
(TELECOMMUNICATIONS) ligne partagée
picket line
n piquet m de grève
plumb line
n fil m à plomb
poverty line
n seuil m de pauvreté
above the poverty line au-dessus du seuil de pauvreté
below the poverty line au-dessous du seuil de pauvreté
→ to live below the poverty line
power line
n ligne f à haute tension
production line
n chaîne f de fabrication
product line
n ligne f de produits
→ A well-known UK supermarket launches more than 1,000 new product lines each year.
punch line , punch-line, punchline
n
[+joke] chute f
→ None of his jokes had a decent punchline.
railroad line
n (US) ligne f de chemin de fer
railway line
n (British)
(=route) ligne f de chemin de fer
(=track) voie f ferrée
shipping line
n compagnie f de navigation
starting line
n ligne f de départ
State line
n (US) frontière f (entre États)
→ the state line between Arkansas and Mississippi
to cross the state line traverser la frontière
→ then they crossed the state line into Mississippi
supply line
n ligne f de ravitaillement
→ The bombing campaign was aimed at cutting the supply lines between Germany and its army in occupied France.
tag line , tagline
n
[+joke] chute f
(=catchy phrase) accroche f
trend line
n tendance f
try line , tryline
n (RUGBY) ligne f de but, ligne f d'essai
→ they launched raid after raid on the home side's try line
unemployment line
n (US) rangs mpl des demandeurs d'emploi
washing line
n (British) corde f à linge
white line
n (on road)
ligne f blanche
yellow line
n
single yellow line ligne jaune simple délimitant une zone de stationnement réglementé ligne jaune simple délimitant une zone de stationnement réglementé
→ The policeman issued him with a £30 fine for parking on a single yellow line
double yellow line ligne jaune double délimitant une zone de stationnement interdit ligne jaune double délimitant une zone de stationnement interdit