bread·line

also bread line (brĕd′līn′)

A line of people waiting to receive food given by a charitable organization or public agency.

Idioms:

below the breadline

Extremely poor.

on the breadline

Dependent on public donations of food.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

breadline

(ˈbrɛdˌlaɪn)

1. (Social Welfare) a queue of people waiting for free food given out by a government agency or a charity organization

2. on the breadline impoverished; living at subsistence level

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

breadline - a queue of people waiting for free food

bread line

queue, waiting line - a line of people or vehicles waiting for something

Translations

fila

breadline

[ˈbredlaɪn] N (US) → cola f del pan
on the breadline (Brit) → en la miseria

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

breadline

[ˈbrɛdlaɪn] n
to be on the breadline → être sans le sou, être dans l'indigencebread roll n → petit pain mbread sauce n → sauce f à la mie de painbread shop n (= baker's) → boulangerie f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

breadline

[ˈbrɛdˌlaɪn] n to be on the breadline → sbarcare a malapena il lunario

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

IN 2017/18 22% of all people in the UK were in poverty }Of all people 7% were 50%+ below the breadline 6% were between 25.1% and 50% below the breadline 5% were between 10.1% and 25% below the breadline 2% were between 5.1% and 10% below the breadline 2% were between 0.1% and 5% below the breadline THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS BELOWTHE BREADLINE

STUCK BELOWTHE BREADLINE Visual by; Visual by MARIANNA LONGO 4.5 million people are trapped in "deep" poverty

Hammond's haughty dismissal of warnings from a UN expert that "vast numbers of people" now live below the breadline in Britain is instructive.

Blind to truth; VOICE OF THE

The eye-opening figures show that, in Picton, in Wavertree, Liverpool, 49.9% of children are living below the breadline, while, in Stockbridge Village, Knowsley, that figure is 41.3%.

'Devastating' child poverty figures spark call for action

The proportion of all people living in persistent relative poverty has remained fairly stable over the past four years - with nine per cent of people falling below the breadline before housing costs and 13 per cent after housing costs.

THE POVERTY Trap

"The system is broken, with low pay, insecure work and the benefits freeze trapping families below the breadline.

'23% of region's workforce now living in poverty'

That means around 400,000 children across the West Midlands are living below the breadline.

Nearly one in four Brummies still living in poverty - with children hardest hit; Government data released today shows 1.4 million people across the region were living in relative poverty between 2015/16 and 2017/18

Action group the Poverty Alliance say PS5 extra could ease the suffering caused by an estimated one million people - 230,000 of them children - living below the breadline.

PLEA OVER KIDS LIVING IN POVERTY

The pots fill exactly 25 pieces, totalling PS12.50 to feed people below the breadline this festive season.

Food bank's 50p appeal; SPARE COINS CHALLENGE LAUNCHED TO HELP THOSE IN NEED AT CHRISTMAS

When people fall below the breadline - it is a frightening and confusing time.

CAB closure is just inconceivable

In Murdostoun, 1068 children are living below the breadline - that's 26.47 per cent.

UNACCEPTABLE; WORRYING New poverty figures are shameful

A fortnight back, Buttle UK, an anti-poverty charity, published a report which stated: "The plight of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children is deteriorating - more are living in poverty than at any time in the last 10 years 3.9 million children across the UK living below the breadline."

SUMMER OF SHAME

I must remind Roy that most poor people working in jobs on pitiful pay is evidence that we are under an economy working for the millionaires rather than millions stuck below the breadline.

Stuck below breadline; Letters