white line
- noun
- /waɪt laɪn/
- Drivers should stop before the white line at the traffic signal.
I'm straddling the white line and getting pushed left to right.
- I'm straddling the white line and getting pushed left to right.
Examples
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I watch the broken white line coming up.
Fiction book (1997) -
There is no rider between him and the white line either.
Blog text (7) -
...a simple white line down the middle of the road.
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Go to the white line.
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Just stay on the white line.
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Stay on this side of the white line.
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As we can see from the replay, he did again touch the white line, so it's a fail.
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The crossing of a double solid white line by vehicular traffic is prohibited.
Blog text (23) -
A double-width solid white line is used to emphasize a greater degree of hazard.
Blog text (23) -
You can't overtake over a double yellow line, but you can if it's a white line.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a white stripe painted on a road' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'white' (the color) with 'line' (a long narrow mark). This is a literal, compositional compound following normal English noun-modifier patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.
Etymology
The noun white line comes from the simple image of a white painted line on a road that guides drivers. That's why it means 'a painted line on a road that guides traffic'.