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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

give someone line en · VERB

Pronunciation

Etymology

Referring to the use of a fishing line.

Meanings

  1. To unreel more fishing line so that a hooked fish has more freedom to tire itself out.
    • Give him LINE, boy (as the trout rushed down into the shallows); into the water, boy! the line's nearly run out; it's nowhere up to your knees. Watch him! draw the line up; gently! give him line; give him line—thought so! —I feared so, ' as the line, becoming entangled from drawing it up, snapped, and the fish dashed on blindly into the shallows and stranded. 1862, Cyril Thornton, Conyers Lea:
  2. (dated, idiomatic) To allow a person more or less liberty until it is convenient to stop or check him/her.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
giving someone line Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
gives someone line Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
given someone line Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
gave someone line Tense=Past lexicographic