Link Centre Dictionary

breadline

bread·line

UK/ˈbɹɛdlaɪn/ uncommon uk us

noun

1.

a queue of people waiting for free food

Synonyms

Origin

From bread + line. In sense 2, referring to the income level at which one can afford to buy bread, a staple food.

Phrases

  • below the breadline
  • on the breadline
  • poverty line

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.