battle line

noun

the line along which warring troops meet (Freq. 2)

• Topics: ↑military, ↑armed forces, ↑armed services, ↑military machine, ↑war machine

• Hypernyms: ↑line

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noun

1. : a line along which a battle is waged

2. : battleships, cruisers, and supporting warships organized to function as a fighting unit

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the line along which warring troops meet.

[1805-15]

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battle line,

= line of battle. (Cf. ↑line of battle)

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noun, pl ⋯ lines [count]

: a line of soldiers who are fighting in a battle

— usually used figuratively in phrases like the battle lines have been drawn to say that groups of people strongly disagree about an issue and are fighting or arguing with each other

When (the) battle lines were drawn over the issue of new taxes, she was quick to side with the governor.