Definition

Noun: A single, discrete utterance spoken by a character in a dramatic performance, such as a play, film, or television show. It is a unit of dialogue, typically written in a script for an actor to deliver.

Usage

An actor's line is the fundamental spoken component of a script. It is what an actor memorizes and performs. - In theater, an actor must project their actor's line so the entire audience can hear. - The director asked her to deliver that actor's line with more sadness. - He practiced his actor's line repeatedly to get the timing right.

Examples

• The most famous actor's line in the play is "To be, or not to be."
• She waited nervously in the wings for her cue to speak her next actor's line.
• Forgetting an actor's line during a live performance can be very stressful.

Advanced Usage

• To drop a line: To forget or fail to deliver one's line.
  • The seasoned actor never dropped a line during the entire three-hour performance.
• Line delivery: The manner in which an actor speaks a line (e.g., tone, pace, emotion).
  • Her line delivery was so powerful it moved the audience to tears.

Variants and Related Words

• Line (noun): A common, shortened form of "actor's line" used in theatrical and film contexts.
  • "What's my next line?" the actor whispered to the stage manager.
• Dialogue (noun): The conversation between two or more characters in a play, film, or book, which is composed of individual lines.
• Monologue (noun): A long speech by one character in a drama.
• Soliloquy (noun): A monologue in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, often while alone on stage.

Synonyms

• Speech: (In the context of drama) words that are to be spoken by an actor.
• Utterance: A spoken word, statement, or vocal sound.
• Cue: (Specifically) a line or action signaling an actor's time to speak or enter.

Related Phrases

• Learn one's lines: To memorize the dialogue one is required to speak in a performance.
  • The cast spent the first week of rehearsal learning their lines.
• Feed a line: To say one's own line in a way that prompts another actor to say their next line, often to help them remember it.
  • When he hesitated, she fed him his line by repeating her previous question.

Noun

1. words making up the dialogue of a play
   • the actor forgot his speech