different between clothesline vs clothespin

English

Alternative forms

• clothes line (British)

Etymology

clothes +? line

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: kl?thz'l?n, IPA^(key): /?kl??ðzla?n/
• (US) enPR: kl?thz'l?n, IPA^(key): /?klo?ðzla?n/

Noun

clothesline (plural clotheslines)

1. A rope or cord tied up outdoors to hang clothes on so they can dry.

   Synonym: washing line

   Coordinate term: clotheshorse

2. A structure with multiple cords for the same purpose, such as a Hills hoist.
3. (Canada, US, informal) The act of knocking a person over by striking his or her upper body or neck with one's arm, as if he or she had run into a low clothesline.

Translations

Verb

clothesline (third-person singular simple present clotheslines, present participle clotheslining, simple past and past participle clotheslined)

1. (Canada, US, informal, transitive) To knock (a person) over by striking his or her upper body or neck with one's arm, as if he or she had run into a low clothesline.
   • 2014, Jonathan Wood, No Hero, Titan Books (?ISBN)

     One beast jams out its arm, as if to clothesline me, jagged claws poised to take my head off at the neck. I let my feet fall from under me, throwing my legs forward, praying for some momentum, ducking and sliding, a mad limbo to freedom.

Further reading

• clothes line on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “clothesline”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

English

Etymology

From clothes +? pin.

Pronunciation

Noun

clothespin (plural clothespins)

1. A clip or fastener used to secure garments to a clothesline while drying.

Synonyms

• clothes peg

Translations

Verb

clothespin (third-person singular simple present clothespins, present participle clothespinning, simple past and past participle clothespinned)

1. (transitive) To affix with a clothespin.