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Glite Dictionary
city line

city line

1 3.0
A boundary that shows where a city ends
  • noun
translation icon : línea de la ciudad
  • They built it by the highway right at the city line.
  • just inside the city line

Examples

  • A few miles past that is the Lewiston city line.

    Riding the Bullet (2004)

  • EMILIO: We're over the city line.

    Earthquake (1974)

  • A rich lady in some mansion near the city line had been robbed of a valuable necklace.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We noticed the city line as we drove into the town.

  • The new shopping center is just beyond the city line.

  • Many commuters live just outside the city line, in the nearby suburbs.

Synonyms

borderline
vscity line
9 4.1

A line that shows the edge between two places or countries

refers only to urban separations rather than boundaries between other regions
city limits
vscity line
8 2.5

A line around a city that shows where the city area ends

marks boundary but focuses on a single edge rather than multiple outer edges
city limit
vscity line
  • US
2.8

The line that shows where a city or town ends

marks the edge physically rather than legally defining the area

Surface Forms

city line singular
city lines plural

Morphology

city + line

The meaning 'boundary that marks the limits of a city' is directly and compositionally derived from 'city' (urban area) + 'line' (a division or boundary). This noun‑noun compound follows ordinary English compounding patterns and has close parallels in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

City line comes from a simple picture: a visible line on a map or a road sign that shows the edge of a city. So, city line means the 'boundary' or 'limits' you cross when you enter or leave town.