online en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈɔnlɑjn/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈɔnlʌɪn/ (Scotland)
- [ˈɒnlaɪn] (Canada)
- (California) audio
- /ɔnˈlɑjn/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈɒnlaɪn/ (New-Zealand)
- /ɑnˈlaɪn/ Northern US or with the cot–caught merger
- ŏnlīn'
- /ˈɔnlaɪn/ Midland US, Southern US, without the cot–caught merger
- /ˈɑnlaɪn/ Northern US or with the cot–caught merger
- ŏn'līn"
- /ɒnˈlaɪn/ (New-Zealand)
- /ɔnˈlɑen/ (Australia)
- /ˈɒnlaɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɒnˈlaɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈɔnlɑen/ (Australia)
- /ɔnˈlaɪn/ Midland US, Southern US, without the cot–caught merger
- /ɔnˈlʌɪn/ (Scotland)
- [ɔ̟nˈlɑe̯n] (New-Zealand)
- [ɒnˈlaɪn] (Canada)
- [ˈɔ̟nlɑe̯n] (New-Zealand)
Etymology
1950, from on + line.
Meanings
- Of a system: connected (generally electrically) to a larger network. ▸ Of a generator or power plant: connected to the grid.
-
Of a system: connected (generally electrically) to a larger network. ▸ Of a computer: actively connected to the Internet or to some other communications service.
Is this modem online?
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Available over, or delivered from, the Internet.
The online world was meant to be an open system but has become dominated by huge corporations.
2024 May 4, John Naughton, “The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding”, in The Guardian:I prefer to read online newspapers.
In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%.
2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
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Connected to the Internet.
I'll be online tonight, so I'll be able to reply to your email.
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Available on a computer system, even if not networked.
The program comes with an online manual, supplied on compact disc.
Press the F1 key to access the online help.
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Of a system: active, particularly building facilities (such as power) or a factory or power plant.
Once this factory comes online, it will double car production in our country!
The power is online.
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(slang) Immersed in Internet culture. (Usually modified by an intensifier such as extremely or terminally)
“If we were doing a family vlog inside the house, I would not want my feet in the video. At all.” He would wear socks. He is very online. He sees the conversations.
2025 April 27, Lisa Miller, Maggie Shannon, “When a Child’s Life Becomes the Family Business”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:terminally online
To borrow an idiom from the extremely online, late Godard is a mood.
2019, A.O. Scott, “'The Image Book' Review: Godard Looks at Violence, and Movies”, in The New York Times:
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(of an algorithm) Able to process an input piece-by-piece without needing to have the entire input available to it from the start.
An on–line algorithm is presented for constructing the suffix tree for a given string in time linear in the length of the string. The new algorithm has the desirable property of processing the string symbol by symbol from left to right. It has always the suffix tree for the scanned part of the string ready. The method is developed as a linear–time version of a very simple algorithm for (quadratic size) suffix tries. Regardless of its quadratic worst-case this latter algorithm can be a good practical method when the string is not too long. Another variation of this method is shown to give in a natural way the well–known algorithms for constructing suffix automata (DAWGs).
1995 September, Esko Ukkonen, “On-line construction of suffix trees”, in Algorithmica, volume 14, number 3 (PDF), →DOI, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2026, pages 249–260:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most online | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more online | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| on-line | alternative, dated | lexicographic |
Antonyms
offline (antonym(s) of “connected to larger network”) · living under a rock (antonym(s) of “slang”) · offline · brick and mortar (antonym(s) of “online business”) · hardcopy (antonym(s) of “available on a computer system”)
Deriveds
online service provider · online dating · onliner · terminally online · massively multiplayer online game · online wallet · online banking · onlineness · online learning · online date · massively multiplayer online role-playing game · online reality game · chronically online · massive open online course · personal online desktop · online public access catalog
Descendants
آنلاین · online · air loidhne · オンライン · online · 온라인 · online · онла́йн · online · online · online · online
Translations (150)
ga ag feidhmiú (of a system that is active) · es online (connected to the Internet) · hy առցանց (available on a computer system) · kw warlinen (available over the Internet) · uk онла́йн (connected to a network) · fi online (connected to a network) · io enreta (connected to the Internet) · uk у мере́жі́ (connected to the Internet) · cmn 線上 /线上 (connected to a network) · mr ऑनलाइन (connected to the Internet) · id tersambung (connected to the Internet) · wa raloyî (connected to a network) · tr açık (connected to the Internet) · fi verkossa (connected to a network) · fi kytkettynä (connected to a network) · ga ag obair (of a system that is active) · ka ხაზზე (connected to a network) · wa raloyî (connected to the Internet) · ms dalam talian (connected to the Internet) · id dalam jejaring (connected to a network) · hy առցանց (connected to the Internet) · eo enreta (connected to a network) · pt online (available over the Internet) · fi verkossa (connected to the Internet) · pt em linha (connected to a network) · vi trực tuyến (available over the Internet) · ro rețelizat (connected to a network) · mi tuihono (connected to a network) · ur آن لائن (connected to a network) · ka ონლაინ (connected to the Internet) · ru в сети́ (connected to the Internet) · tr çevrim içi (connected to a network) · es en línea (connected to the Internet) · eo interreta (connected to a network) · pt em linha (connected to the Internet) · fi päällä (of a system that is active) · id daring (available over the Internet) · fi toiminnassa (of a system that is active) · es internáutico (available over the Internet) · it online (connected to a network) · fr en ligne (available over the Internet) · mr ऑनलाइन (available over the Internet) · fi verkko- (available over the Internet) · mr ऑनलाइन (connected to a network) · fa درون خط (connected to a network) · tpi onlain (connected to the Internet) · id daring (of a system that is active) · fa روی خط (connected to a network) · wa so les fis (available over the Internet) · fa آنلاین (connected to a network) · eu sarean (connected to a network) · id daring (available on a computer system) · cy ar lein (available on a computer system) · fi seinässä (connected to a network) · id daring (connected to a network) · eu sarean (available over the Internet) · tr online (connected to the Internet) · mi ā-ipurangi (available over the Internet) · vi trên mạng (available over the Internet) · es en operación (of a system that is active) · ms dalam talian (connected to a network) · gv er-linney (connected to the Internet) · yi אָנלײַן (available over the Internet) · cy ar lein (connected to a network) · gu જાળે (available over the Internet) · nrf brantchi (connected to the Internet) · ru онла́йновый (connected to a network) · cy ar lein (available over the Internet) · gv er-linney (available over the Internet) · tpi onlain (connected to a network) · it online (connected to the Internet) · ro în internet (connected to the Internet) · io enlinea (available over the Internet) · gu જાળે (connected to a network) · my အွန်လိုင်း (available over the Internet) · pl online (connected to a network) · ur انٹرنیٹ پر (connected to a network) · io enlinea (connected to the Internet) · mi ā-ipurangi (connected to the Internet) · uk онла́йновий (connected to a network) · ga ar líne (available over the Internet) · ka ხაზზე (connected to the Internet) · tl onlayn (available over the Internet) · tr çevrim içi (connected to the Internet) · de online (available over the Internet) · ms dalam talian (of a system that is active) · io enreta (available over the Internet) · fr en ligne (connected to a network) · bg свъ́рзан (connected to a network) · es a distancia (available over the Internet) · ro în linie (connected to a network) · fi verkossa (connected to a network) · el σε απευθείας σύνδεση (connected to the Internet) · ko 온라인 (connected to a network) · pt online (connected to the Internet) · mi tuihono (connected to the Internet) · de online (connected to a network) · id daring (connected to the Internet) · de angeschlossen (connected to a network) · io enreta (connected to a network) · fi netissä (connected to the Internet) · es por internet (available over the Internet) · ka დაკავშირებული (connected to the Internet) · gd air loidhne (available over the Internet) · tr çevrim içi (available over the Internet) · pl online (connected to the Internet) · io enlinea (connected to a network) · ms dalam talian (available on a computer system) · bg вклю́чен (of a system that is active) · id beroperasi (of a system that is active) · nrf brantchi (connected to a network) · el διαδικτυακός (available over the Internet) · cy ar lein (connected to the Internet) · fa برخط (connected to a network) · ro online (connected to the Internet) · kw warlinen (connected to the Internet) · ga gníomhach (of a system that is active) · uk в мере́жі́ (connected to the Internet) · pt online (connected to a network) · km អនឡាញ (available over the Internet) · ja 起動 (of a system that is active) · it online (available over the Internet) · ru онла́йн (connected to a network) · mr इंटरनेटवर (available over the Internet) · de online (connected to the Internet) · el σε απευθείας σύνδεση (available over the Internet) · sl v omrežju (connected to a network) · ur روئے ربط (connected to a network) · it in linea (connected to the Internet) · ga ar líne (connected to the Internet) · sl dosegljiv (connected to the Internet) · ms dalam talian (available over the Internet) · pl online (available over the Internet) · de eingeschaltet (of a system that is active) · hy առցանց (available over the Internet) · tl onlayn (connected to the Internet) · es internauta (available over the Internet) · it in rete (connected to the Internet) · ur بر خط (connected to a network) · eu sarean (connected to the Internet) · ja オンライン (connected to a network) · mi tuihono (available over the Internet) · fr en ligne (connected to the Internet) · ro online (connected to a network) · fi online (available on a computer system) · gd air loidhne (connected to the Internet) · cmn 網上 /网上 (connected to a network) · bg онлайн (connected to the Internet) · ka ონლაინ (connected to a network) · it in linea (connected to a network)