Meanings
nounfiring line (plural firing lines)
plural firing lines
- governmentThe line from which soldiers fire their weapons at a target; especially the front line of troops in a battle.
- A row of shooters.
- figurativelyLine of fire, a situation in which someone or something is targeted.
Directly in their firing line was Sir Brian Robertson, the retired Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Land Forces in the Second World War, who had been appointed chairman of the British Transport Commission (BTC) in 1953.
2023 March 8, Howatd Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 50 - idiomaticThe vanguard of an activity.
Translations
Finnish tulilinja, ampumalinja
- tulilinjafront line from which soldiers fire
- ampumalinjafront line from which soldiers fire
- ampumatasaline of shooters
French ligne de feu
- ligne de feufront line from which soldiers fire
Polish linia ognia
- linia ogniafront line from which soldiers fire
Russian огнево́й рубе́ж, ли́ния огня́
- огнево́й рубе́ж (ognevój rubéž)front line from which soldiers fire
- ли́ния огня́ (línija ognjá)front line from which soldiers fire
Cite this entry
APA
firing line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firing%20line
MLA
“firing line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firing%20line. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “firing line,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firing%20line.
Source: firing line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.