chorus line
- noun
- /ˈkɔːrəs laɪn/
- She always dreamed of performing in a renowned Broadway chorus line.
Examples
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The musical ended with a dazzling chorus line that impressed the entire audience.
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I love a good chorus line.
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A good chorus line is so hard to put together.
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Listen, there's a spot open in the chorus line.
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The music suddenly stops, and the high-stepping cops stagger away from the chorus line, looking confused.
Fiction book (1994) -
She played softball by day and danced in the Fortville Dinner Theater chorus line by night.
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In dresses of frothy pink chiffon, a chorus line of long-haired boys, including Titanic, swayed in time to an old standard.
Fiction book (2001) -
Unlike the quartet of women in Melancholic, the quartet in Phlegmatic does not challenge the soloist; instead, they inject energy into his dancing, and all of them dance together in a kind of chorus line.
Academic text (2000) -
After weeks of practice, the dancers formed a stunning chorus line for the final scene.
Synonyms
A group of people who sing together in a play or concert
How Many
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'chorus' (a group of singers/performers) plus 'line' (a formation or row): it denotes performers arranged together in a line. This compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun chorus line comes from old stage shows where a long row of performers, called the chorus, stood in a line and sang and danced together. That's why today chorus line means 'a group of singers or dancers who perform as one'.