Meaning & use
sideline
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Meanings
nouncountable
One of the two lines that mark the long sides of a sports field, or the ground just beyond them.
Grammar: Countable, often used in the plural for the two lines together: the ball rolled over the sideline.
Patterns
- on the sideline
- over the sideline
- the sideline of a field
The winger sprinted down the sideline and crossed the ball.
His foot touched the sideline, so the play was stopped.
Coaches and substitutes stood along the sideline, watching the game.
nouncountable
A job or activity that someone does in addition to their main work, often to earn extra money.
Grammar: Usually singular and often preceded by a possessive: teaching is her sideline.
Patterns
- as a sideline
- a sideline in something
- earn money on the side
She teaches history, but photography is her sideline.
He runs a small bakery as a sideline to his farm work.
Writing travel guides started as a sideline and became a career.
nounusually pluralfigurative
A position in which someone is not taking part in an activity or decision.
Grammar: Almost always in the phrase on the sidelines; it is figurative and used with verbs like watch, stay, or remain.
Patterns
- on the sidelines
- watch from the sidelines
- stay on the sidelines
The union watched the talks from the sidelines at first.
After the injury, he spent a season on the sidelines.
Critics say the government is standing on the sidelines instead of acting.
Word forms
| plural | sidelines |
|---|
Common combinations
- watch from the sidelines
- Fans watched from the sidelines as the team warmed up.
- stay on the sidelines
- She chose to stay on the sidelines during the argument.
- a lucrative sideline
- Selling handmade soap became a lucrative sideline for him.
- a sideline business
- He turned his weekend hobby into a sideline business.
- down the sideline
- The fullback ran down the sideline for fifty yards.
Synonyms and how they differ
- touchline
- Used mostly in British English for the same boundary line in games like soccer and rugby.
- hobby
- A hobby is done for pleasure, while a sideline usually brings in extra money.
- periphery
- Periphery means the outer edge of anything, not specifically a sports field.
Opposites
Word family
- sideline verb
- To remove someone from a team or from active work, often because of injury.
- sidelined adjective
- Describing someone kept out of action, as in an injured, sidelined player.
Commonly confused: sideline or side line? sideline or deadline?
sideline vs side line
Written as two words, 'side line' is rare and can mean a line at the side of any object; the sports and job meanings are one word.
sideline vs deadline
A deadline is a time limit, not a boundary line, though both end in -line.
Practice
The coach kept the young striker ___ for the first half of the match.
Choose one answer.
'On the sidelines' is the fixed phrase for players not taking part. 'In the sidelines' and 'by sidelines' are not English patterns, and 'at the sideline' would suggest a physical position next to one line, not being left out of play.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sideline”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.