along the lines of

preposition

Similar to, but not exactly equal.

“The shape is folded along the lines of symmetry.”

Similar
on the lines of
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

preposition
  1. idiomaticSimilar to, but not exactly equal.

    I was thinking along the lines of writing to the local paper, to see if we can get some reaction.

    1 more example

    "The railman on the platform, whom I knew well, looked a bit bemused and asked what I was doing. Thinking it a silly question, I said something along the lines of 'what do you think? I'm going home to bed'. "He then said 'but you don't live here anymore'.

    2022 September 7, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 965, page 71

    Synonyms: on the lines of

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see along, the, lines, of.

    The shape is folded along the lines of symmetry.

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositionSimilar to, but not exactly equal.

Similar
on the lines of
Also see
on the lines of

Translations

Arabic عَلَى غِرَار
  • عَلَى غِرَار (ʕalā ḡirār)similar to but not exactly equal
Chinese Mandarin 這類的 /这类的, 類似的 /类似的
  • 這類的 /这类的 (zhè lèi de)similar to but not exactly equal
  • 類似的 /类似的 (lèisì de)similar to but not exactly equal
Finnish siihen suuntaan, että
  • siihen suuntaansimilar to but not exactly equal
  • ettäsimilar to but not exactly equal
Hungarian olyasmi, -féle
  • olyasmisimilar to but not exactly equal
  • -félesimilar to but not exactly equal
  • -szerűsimilar to but not exactly equal
Polish w stylu
  • w stylusimilar to but not exactly equal
Swedish i stil med
  • i stil medsimilar to but not exactly equal
Cite this entry
APA

along the lines of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/along%20the%20lines%20of

MLA

“along the lines of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/along%20the%20lines%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “along the lines of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/along%20the%20lines%20of.

Source: along the lines of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.