Sideline

How to spell sideline

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce sideline

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sideline mean?

1. verbTo remove someone from an active or central role, or to keep them out of action.
2. nounA line marking the side boundary of a sports field or court.
3. nounA small business or activity pursued in addition to one's main work.

Sideline in a sentence

• verb

  A knee injury can sideline a player for the whole season.

• noun

  The coach paced along the sideline during the final minutes.

• noun

  She sells handmade candles as a sideline alongside her day job.

• verb

  Managers sometimes sideline staff who question the strategy.

• noun

  The ball rolled out of bounds just past the sideline.

• noun

  The bakery runs a catering sideline for local weddings.

Where does sideline come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound formed from 'side' and 'line', both of which descend from Old English: 'sīde' meant the flank or edge of something, while 'līne' (ultimately from Latin linea, a thread or string used to mark a straight course) meant a length of cord or a drawn mark. The compound first appears in the nineteenth century in the literal sense of a line marking the side boundary of a playing field, especially in American sports. From the spatial idea of standing 'on the sidelines', off the field of play, it quickly grew a figurative sense of being kept out of the main action, and from there developed the verb meaning to push someone aside. A separate strand gave 'sideline' the meaning of a secondary line of goods or work, something done on the side. Because both halves are familiar everyday words, the spelling is straightforward once you remember it is written as a single solid word.

How the word is built

• side (edge, flank)
• line (boundary, marking)