Thin Red Line

proper noun

The members of the 93rd Regiment of the British Army who met the charge of the Russian cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Thin Red Line
  1. historicalThe members of the 93rd Regiment of the British Army who met the charge of the Russian cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.
  2. broadlyAny thinly spread military unit holding firm against attack.

Origin

William H. Russell, Times Correspondent at the Battle of Balaclava, wrote that he could see nothing between the charging Russians and the British regiment's base of operations at Balaclava but the “thin red streak tipped with a line of steel”. The condensed phrase “the thin red line” came to represent British composure in battle.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Thin Red Line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thin%20Red%20Line

MLA

“Thin Red Line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thin%20Red%20Line. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Thin Red Line,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thin%20Red%20Line.

Source: Thin Red Line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.