trunk line

noun

1
: a transportation system (such as an airline, railroad, or highway) handling long-distance through traffic
2
a
: a main supply channel (as for gas or oil)

Examples of trunk line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Quiñones said the tanks, which supply pressure for hydrants in the hilly Palisades, couldn't refill fast enough as firefighting efforts drained water faster than the main trunk line could supply it. Laura Doan, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2025 Quiñones said four times the usual demand for water on the trunk line over a 15-hour period led to drops in water pressure. Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025 These dampers act as a block at the main duct trunk line, causing your system to function like there isn’t a vent in that particular room at all. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2024 That’s how Belgian utility Elia is replacing all of its big trunk lines with ACCC. IEEE Spectrum, 25 Sep. 2024 Stationmasters along that part of Greece’s main trunk line communicate with each other and with train drivers via two-way radios, and the switches are operated manually. Demetris Nellas and Costas Kantouris, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2023 The first 430-mile stretch of a new trunk line isn’t expected to be completed until next year after the sputtering economy constrained infrastructure investments and left companies locked out of credit markets. Jonathan Gilbert, Bloomberg.com, 28 Mar. 2022 But rather than a random scattering of facilities that process this or handle that, the report envisions a centralized trunk line down the middle of the state along which everything would be located. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2020 This way, trucks wouldn't have to travel very far to reach a railroad, which could carry it along that trunk line. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of trunk line was in 1843

Dictionary Entries Near trunk line

Cite this Entry

“Trunk line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trunk%20line. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

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