down the line

Question

What does this phrase mean completely?Thank you!

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

show some context

BarbaraPA · Answer

It commonly means "later on in the process."

And so we'll see if, down the line, we need to hire more staff, but for now, staffing levels will remain constant.

CalifJim · Answer

down the line has many meanings. Here are some, with some examples found on the Internet, modified for purposes of illustration.

Context: railroads
down the line - farther along the tracks - figuratively, in far-away towns

We are slowly moving the Jupiter locomotive and its tender down the line from the Arts and Industries Building to the Railroad Hall at the National Museum.
_______

Context: electric transmission networks
down the line - farther along the transmission wires; throughout the network

Investigators now think the crisis started with the failure of several transmission lines near Lake Erie. The clockwise flow of power around the lake was very suddenly sucked backward, destabilizing the flow of electricity, and causing trouble all down the line.
_______

Context: communications networks
down the line - through the wires

All of the big telecommunication companies are keen to start shooting video down the line.
_______

Context: heredity and genetics
down the line - inherited from one generation to the next

Many of the participants in the study wrongly believed that a family tendency had come down the line to them from their ancestors.
_______

Context: a series
down the line - in the case of every person or thing in the series or hierarchy of persons or things under consideration; the same for all in a series.

Ware also rebutted McCain’s assertion that Petraeus travels in an unarmed humvee. He said that in the hour since Sen. McCain said this, he had spoken to various military sources and there was laughter down the line.

Some pundits are recommending impeachment not only for George W. Bush, but for all the rest of the government officials as well. They recommend impeachment all down the line.

Asked about his political allegiance, the surfer said that he usually voted Republican for every choice of candidates on the ballot. He voted Republican down the line.
_______

Context: passage of time
down the line - later; in times to come; in the future

When someone writes their own software, who will support it down the line when it has problems?

Headline: A Decade Down the Line: ASME gets a major organizational makeover to face the world 10 years from now.

Whatever's coming down the line at Ford will be big stuff. [This also cleverly suggests "down the assembly line".]

It will be many years down the line before we begin to see the results of this new technology.
_____

CJ

down the line

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions