feeder line
1
4.8
- noun
- Specialized
- If Arco discovered oil, a feeder line would have to be built through sensitive and pristine forestland to connect the field to the pipeline.
Examples
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The airline introduced a feeder line that connects smaller towns to the main airport hub.
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The proper way to do something like this is to add a breaker to your main box and run an auxiliary feeder line off that.
Blog text (24) -
The new bus route will be a feeder line connecting the city center to outlying neighborhoods.
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Many rural areas rely on feeder lines to access larger train stations for long-distance travel.
Synonyms
19
2.8
Tracks and the ground they sit on that form a route for trains
1
3.9
A railway line that leaves a main line to serve a small area
1
6.0
A small private train route that connects local towns to main railway lines
How Major
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositional: 'feeder' (something that feeds or supplies) combined with 'line' (a route or channel) directly yields a line that feeds into a main route. This is a literal, non-idiomatic formation found across languages and in transport/utility contexts, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase feeder line comes from the image of a feeder — something that gives food — and a line as a route. Imagine a small road or rail that 'feeds' people or goods into a big train or airline route; that's why it means 'a smaller route that connects to a main line'.