Line up meaning
Line up means to stand in a line or queue. It can also mean to put people or things in a straight row.
line up
line up · lined · lining
People lined up outside the shop at 6 am.
Line up meanings and examples
3 meanings, each with its own CEFR level from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary.
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1
Stand in a line or queue
line up
- People lined up outside the shop at 6 am.
- Children, line up at the door, please.
- We didn’t line up for long, maybe ten minutes.
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2
Put people or things in a straight row
line somebody up
- She lined up all her shoes by the door.
- The coach lined the players up for a photo.
- Take the glasses and line them up so I can fill them.
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3
Arrange for an event or person to be ready
line something up
- We’ve lined up three great bands for the festival.
- Have you lined up a job for after university?
- She lined a babysitter up for Saturday.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use line up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is line up separable?
When people stand in a line, line up has no object: We lined up. When you arrange people or things, it is separable: line up the cups, line them up.
Line up for a queue is more American; UK English says queue (up). A line-up (US lineup) is the list of performers or players: the festival line-up.
Verb tenses for line up
| Present | I line up · she lines up |
|---|---|
| Past | lined up |
| Present perfect | have lined up |
| -ing form | lining up |
Common mistakes with line up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: Line up them by size.
Right: Line them up by size.
A pronoun goes between line and up.
Wrong: We lined up to the ticket office.
Right: We lined up at the ticket office.
Use at for the place, or for + the thing you want.
Wrong: People lined up to tickets for hours.
Right: People lined up for tickets for hours.
Use for before the thing you want.
Synonyms and opposites of line up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- queue upUK, stand in a line to wait
- set uparrange or prepare something
- organiseplan and arrange an event
Opposite
- push inUK, go into a queue in front of others unfairly
- scattermove or spread in different directions
Line up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Fans ___ all night to buy the new game.
Line up means stand in a line to wait.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Line up + noun is fine; a pronoun would go in the middle.
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3“The TV channel has lined up some big guests.” What has it done?
Line up people can mean arrange for them to take part.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- put upB1fix something to a wall, or raise something higher
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- go upB1become higher, like a price, a number or a temperature
- come upB2be mentioned or talked about
- give upB1stop doing or having something, often a habit
- break upB1end a romantic relationship
Line up FAQ
Questions people ask about line up.
What is the difference between line up and queue?
They mean the same when you wait in a line. Line up is more American; queue is more British.
What is a line-up?
It is a list of people taking part, like bands at a festival or players in a team. In police work, it is a row of people a witness looks at.
What does line up with mean?
It means match or agree with something: His story doesn’t line up with the facts.
Use line up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.