next in linen.adv.adj.
/ˌnɛkst ɪn ˈlʌɪn/, U.S. /ˌnɛkst ᵻn ˈlaɪn/ A. n.
With the. The person who or thing which is next in order of succession, importance, or preference; the person or thing immediately adjacent (usually behind) in a row or queue.
ΚΠ
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 457 Isaac, Jacob, Judah..and..Solomon, were preferred without any regard to the next in line.
1864 Harper's Mag. July 153/2 Next south of her was the Saratoga,..and the next in line was the schooner Ticonderoga.
1911 E. Ferber Buttered Side Down vii. 128 The next in line happened to be a man.
1963 P. G. Wodehouse Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves iv. 32 If anything should ever happen to make her revise her conviction that he was a king among men and she was compelled to give him the heave-ho, I was the next in line.
1991 J. Chang Wild Swans (1993) xc. 373 The provincial authorities had already punished several scapegoats, and my father had a strong presentiment that he was going to be the next in line.
B. adv.
Directly following in order of succession, importance, preference, or occurrence.
ΚΠ
1852 Southern Q. Rev. July 200 A part of Dixon's regiment, of that brigade, next in line to the second Maryland brigade, fired two or three rounds of cartridge.
1908 M. Mayo Polly of Circus i. 4 She was Polly's understudy and next in line for the star place on the bill.
1964 Amer. Speech 39 305 Next in line are lieutenants,..each of whom is in charge of a regime.
1975 K. Katzner Langs. of World i. 34 South of Mexico the most important Indian language by far is Quechua... Next in line in South America are Guarani..and Aymara.
1994 New York 3 Jan. 21/2 The common wisdom was this: Arnold on top. Half a step behind Costner. With these three dead-heating next in line.
C. adj. (attributive).
That is next in line (see sense B.); immediately adjacent or succeeding. rare.
ΚΠ
1987 Jrnl. Asian Stud. 46 621 As if the less impressively performing parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands were all next-in-line NICs [= newly industrializing countries] or rule-proving exceptions.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adv.adj.a1715