assembly-line
1 of 2adjective
as·sem·bly-line ə-ˈsem-blē-ˌlīn 
: made by or as if by an assembly line
especially : lacking originality or creativity
bored by the novel's assembly-line plot
assembly line
2 of 2noun
1
: an arrangement of machines, equipment, and workers in which work passes from operation to operation in direct line until the product is assembled
2
: a process for turning out a finished product in a mechanically efficient manner
academic assembly lines
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Brett Berk, Popular Mechanics, 20 June 2022 The advent of the assembly line had routinized the labor of making cars. New York Times, 10 June 2022 At the end of the assembly line, Rivian has a single machine to test that its vehicles are watertight. Sean Mclain, WSJ, 4 June 2022 Two bakers formed their own small assembly line while a vat of golden syrup, a key ingredient made from water, lemon and sugar, boiled away. Momo Chang, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Aug. 2022 Nissan Manufacturing Rus LLC, the company’s plant in St. Petersburg, stopped its assembly line—that builds Qashqai and Murano SUVs— in mid-March due to logistics disruptions. Peter Lyon, Forbes, 29 June 2022 Demand for foreign workers can generate tension on the assembly line, as the Mexican nationals interviewed by the AJC explained. Lautaro Grinspan, ajc, 5 Aug. 2022 His father worked in this factory decades ago, and Hahlbohm started out on the assembly line. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 18 July 2022 Subsystem workers sort all the parts that come into to the plants and then deliver those parts to the assembly line to keep production humming. Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 30 June 2022 See More
Noun
The auto chips that did reach the end of the assembly line ran into their own problems as, among other things, dock workers in the global shipping industry were furloughed or quarantined. Brett Berk, Popular Mechanics, 20 June 2022 The advent of the assembly line had routinized the labor of making cars. New York Times, 10 June 2022 At the end of the assembly line, Rivian has a single machine to test that its vehicles are watertight. Sean Mclain, WSJ, 4 June 2022 Two bakers formed their own small assembly line while a vat of golden syrup, a key ingredient made from water, lemon and sugar, boiled away. Momo Chang, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Aug. 2022 Nissan Manufacturing Rus LLC, the company’s plant in St. Petersburg, stopped its assembly line—that builds Qashqai and Murano SUVs— in mid-March due to logistics disruptions. Peter Lyon, Forbes, 29 June 2022 Demand for foreign workers can generate tension on the assembly line, as the Mexican nationals interviewed by the AJC explained. Lautaro Grinspan, ajc, 5 Aug. 2022 His father worked in this factory decades ago, and Hahlbohm started out on the assembly line. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 18 July 2022 Subsystem workers sort all the parts that come into to the plants and then deliver those parts to the assembly line to keep production humming. Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 30 June 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1925, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
assembly line
noun
: an arrangement for assembling a product mechanically in which work passes from one operation to the next in a direct line until the product is finished
assembly-line
adjective
as in cookie-cutter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- cookie-cutter
- derivative
- hackneyed
- canned
- unoriginal
- pedestrian
- stodgy
- pedantic
- unimaginative
- impractical
- uncreative
- useless
- dull
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- original
- novel
- creative
- inventive
- innovative
- fresh
- visionary
- artful
- imaginative
- ingenious
- adventurous
- groundbreaking
- clever
- gadgety
- cleverish
- gives a hard time
- gives air to
- gives away
- gives back
- gives birth to
- gives ground
- gives her the hump
- gives in
- gives in (to)
- gives in to
- gives me the silent treatment
- gives notice
- gives of
- gives off
- gives one the creeps
- gives one the gate
- gives one's word
- gives out
- gives over
- gives over (to)
- gives over to
- gives rise to
- gives the lie to
- gives the third degree to
- gives up