down the line
92
4.4
- idiom
:
más adelante
- But maybe ten years down the line.
- further down the line
- years down the line
- four months down the line
Maybe later down the line they will be, you know, we'll see.
- Maybe later down the line they will be, you know, we'll see.
- Kiss me and down the line it's going to work out for you.
- Like, I thought that would come way down the line, but no, it was like the first thing.
- So I'm just cool voting down the line.
- Because otherwise Europe will be in even bigger trouble five years down the line than it is now.
- And that's what matters most way down the line is how do people feel about you?
- So that's still a little bit later down the line.
- I think maybe not at the start, but later down the line you should get like ambassadors.
- And, and I'm just happy to get to further down the line, take all the credit, which I, I will.
- But you know, later on down the line, and I don't think he's a bad person for it.
- Whatever it is, there can be a sense that you can fix it down the line once things are more set.
Examples
-
You know, maybe later on down the line we should be enjoying them.
-
Because otherwise Europe will be in even bigger trouble five years down the line than it is now.
-
But, you know, maybe down the line, we'll work together.
-
Like, I thought that would come way down the line, but no, it was like the first thing.
-
We'll figure it out down the line when it feels right.
-
Somewhere down the line, I just stopped going out.
-
Tell us what we want to know, and it might help you down the line.
Fiction book (1992) -
But somewhere down the line, you find the cost of these expectations too dear.
Fiction book (2000) -
But you know, two years down the line, what's been done?
-
We might see improvements in our sales down the line if we keep working hard.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
In a short time
∞
1.1
At some time in the future
∞
1.0
At some time in the future
366
1.0
At a time after now or after a time already said
188
3.7
At a time in the future
56
1.6
It happens soon
30
3.4
At some point while things are happening or changing
24
4.6
At some point during a process or series of events
2
5.1
At a later time
At a time after now or after a time already said
Antonyms
How Soon
Surface Forms
Morphology
down + the + line
The temporal meaning 'at some point in the future' is a metaphorical extension of the spatial image of moving 'down' a 'line' (i.e. further along a sequence), so a learner who knows the words can often infer the sense from context. However, the spatial→temporal shift is conventionalized and not entirely predictable without prior exposure, making the expression partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Down the line may come from the simple image of things moving down a long line (like people in a queue or items on a work line), so something further along the line happens later. That's why down the line means 'at some point in the future'.