breadline

Thân thiện

A long breadline forms outside the community center.

Definition

Noun: A line of people waiting to receive free food, typically provided by a charity or government agency, often due to poverty or economic hardship.

Usage

The word "breadline" specifically refers to the physical queue itself. It is used to describe a situation where people are in such need that they must wait for charitable food distribution.

Examples

• Noun:
  • During the Great Depression, millions of Americans found themselves on the breadline.
  • The charity organization serves hundreds of people in the breadline every day.
  • He joined the breadline after losing his job and exhausting his savings.

Advanced Usage

• "to be on the breadline": An idiom meaning to be in a state of extreme poverty, relying on or eligible for charitable aid.
  • After the factory closed, many families in the town were on the breadline.

Variants and Related Words

• Breadline is a compound noun. It does not have common verb or adjective forms.
• Soup kitchen (n): A place where free food is served to the needy, often the destination for those in a breadline.

Synonyms

• Food line: A more modern and direct synonym.
• Relief queue: Emphasizes the queue is for aid or relief.

Related Idioms

• "To live on/close to the breadline": To live in poverty or with very little money, struggling to afford basic necessities.
  • Even with two jobs, they are still living close to the breadline.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a queue of people waiting for free food

Từ đồng nghĩa

• bread line