to draw a line
38
3.8
- phrasal verb
- The teacher had to draw a line regarding acceptable behavior in the classroom.
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Watch on YouTubeYou know, I just don't draw a line at art.
- You know, I just don't draw a line at art.
- I, I, I do draw a line about naming rights of buildings.
Examples
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Simply put, courts cannot be expected to arbitrarily draw a line of permissible tax between the five dollar amount for "any other weapons" and the two hundred dollar tax for other NFA-regulated firearms.
Academic text (2016) -
In debates about internet privacy, it's essential to draw a line between personal freedom and security.
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At some point, you do have to draw a line.
Blog text (29) -
From this day forward, I shall quit all of its organizations and draw a line setting myself free.
Blog text (9) -
And now the Russians are drawing a line in the sand with respect to Syria and Iran.
Blog text (5) -
Clearly, drawing a line between a governmental blind eye and individual enterprise is not an easy task.
Academic text (2010) -
Can and should judges attempt to use unconscionability to draw a line between acceptable and unacceptable market behaviors?
Academic text (2016) -
Although chemist "Michelle" felt that "family life was something realized and accepted" in her department, her colleagues "drew a line," and talk about families did not often come into the workplace.
Academic text (2005) -
However, reading the document gives one the impression that Islam is chosen as an example quite consciously in order to draw a line between those religions with which one can undertake common prayer and those with which one cannot.
Academic text (2015) -
Although in Bosnia vast areas are ethnically cleansed, it is still not possible to draw a line and completely separate Bosnjaks, Serbs, and Croats.
Academic text (2015)
Synonyms
80
4.1
Set a clear limit on what you will accept
14
1.0
To make the shape or edges of something clear
13
6.7
To set a clear limit that must not be crossed
8
7.0
To draw the shape or edge of something clearly
4
7.9
To mark the border between two areas with a line or fence
2
7.0
To mark the edges of an area or idea
1
3.9
To show the line that separates two places
1
8.7
Set or mark the limits of an area like a project
To make a clear line between two areas or kinds of activity
Antonyms
How Strict
Surface Forms
Morphology
The figurative meaning 'to set a boundary or limit' is directly and predictably derived from the literal act of 'draw' (make a mark) + 'line' (a mark or division); the image of marking a line to separate or limit maps closely onto the metaphorical use. This compositional, cross-linguistically common metaphor makes the sense immediately accessible to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
The phrase draw a line comes from the simple image of the words draw and line: making a visible mark on a page or map to show where something stops. That's why it now means 'to set a clear limit' on what is allowed.