1
: a line at right angles to a goal line or end line and marking a side of a court or field of play for athletic games
2
a
: a line of goods sold in addition to one's principal line
b
: a business or activity pursued in addition to one's regular occupation
3
a
: the space immediately outside the lines along either side of an athletic field or court
b
: a sphere of little or no participation or activity
—usually used in plural
Examples of sideline in a Sentence
Noun
She makes and sells jewelry as a sideline.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Ritman, Variety, 15 Feb. 2026
Lozano continues to sit on a ball on the sideline at practice, elbow on knee, chin on hand.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
Too often, long-term healthcare investment is sidelined not because the need is unclear, but because prevailing investment frameworks are poorly suited to healthcare’s realities—long build times, regulatory complexity and returns that compound through outcomes rather than speed.
—Abrar Mir, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sideline
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Noun
But there has certainly been a sense that the festival has been trying to keep the politics on the sidelines, or least displayed through the art rather than the artist.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 15 Feb. 2026
Lozano continues to sit on a ball on the sideline at practice, elbow on knee, chin on hand.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Verb
Some of those talks have sidelined antitrust chief Gail Slater, who inherited the Live Nation case from the Biden administration but has pursued it toward a trial set for March.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
Too often, long-term healthcare investment is sidelined not because the need is unclear, but because prevailing investment frameworks are poorly suited to healthcare’s realities—long build times, regulatory complexity and returns that compound through outcomes rather than speed.
—Abrar Mir, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sideline
Cite this Entry
“Sideline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sideline. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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