trunk line
noun1
Rail transport, Railways, Transport A main railway line which usually forms the backbone of a rail network.
- But the states were generally concerned with the location of trunk lines and left it to cities and counties to worry about branch lines.1987, William H. Rehnquist, The Supreme Court:
2
The main line of a canal, from which other sections diverge.
3
A main telephone line.
- Then he put a trunk line phone call through to the nearest township and asked the Police to send someone out as soon as possible.1943, H. Lorna Bingham, The Lost Tribe, Sydney: Winn and Co., page 13, column 2:
- Related terms
- trunkline