air-line

[ air-lahyn ]

adjective

1. straight; direct; traveling a direct route:

   Some railroads advertise air-line routes between stations.

Word History and Origins

Origin of air-line¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15

Example Sentences

It was known, in advance, by the combination, that the working up of the corner in Muscogee Air Line would be a long operation.

From Project Gutenberg

The corner in Muscogee Air Line, was as evasive as a huckleberry in a mouth bereft of its armament.

From Project Gutenberg

They had been twelve hours on the wing and had covered a distance which, by air line, measured more than five hundred miles.

From Project Gutenberg

Distances are in kilometers; all are map (air line) distances, unless otherwise indicated.

From Project Gutenberg

The Seaboard Air Line, therefore, when it gave to this little switching road for a twenty-mile haul, about forty per cent.

From Project Gutenberg