How to Use on the line in a Sentence

on the line

phrase
  • Use clear or black zip-ties to further secure any loose points on the line.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 29 June 2026
  • The last round of group games are tomorrow, and places will still be on the line.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • This is the World Cup and a spot in the Round of 16 was on the line.
    — Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
  • The grand championship, Riles’s chance to make history, is on the line.
    — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
  • The goalkeeper must begin on the line and, when the ball is struck, have at least part of one foot touching, level with or behind it.
    — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 28 June 2026
  • Think of it less like one AI on the line and more like a small team of focused specialists, each good at a particular kind of reasoning.
    — Saran Siva, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed fighting to exhaustion, the two aging legends will look to do the same with a round-of-16 spot on the line.
    — David Hickey, NBC news, 2 July 2026
  • Many account executives still handle discovery calls, technical demos, and objection handling with limited or no sales engineer support on the line.
    — Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 30 June 2026
  • Body on the line đź’Ş But that was not the Wan-Bissaka who repelled Rashford’s attacking threat as England toiled at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
    — Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • Both Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals took place on Sunday night, with future world title opportunities at AEW's biggest show of the year on the line.
    — Rob Wolkenbrod, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • The Spurs played 11 postseason games with clutch situations, and Vassell was the only Spurs player to hit two clutch 3s over the entire postseason, indicating that reliable shooting with the game on the line is the team’s biggest need next season.
    — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 June 2026
  • Elimination is on the line again at AT&T Stadium, as Australia and Egypt face off in the round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
    — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 July 2026
  • In the 1992 Elite Eight, with Duke’s sixth Final Four in seven seasons on the line, Laettner infamously stomped on Kentucky’s Aminu Timberlake mid-game, but somehow avoided ejection.
    — Brendan Marks, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • There is expected to be a push from Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions to get one of the world titles on the line for the August 29 fight between Britain’s Moses Itauma and Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic.
    — Chris McKenna, New York Times, 26 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on the line.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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