Online Meaning
/ˈɒnlaɪn/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf a system: connected (generally electrically) to a larger network.
adjOf a system: connected (generally electrically) to a larger network., Of a generator or power plant: connected to the grid.
Sentence Examples
It almost scared me not to see you online for a whole day.
Legal changes threaten online sales in digital commerce.
Many children would rather go online than watch television.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Since the university closed all physical classrooms, students had to take the course ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The university moved all its courses ____ during the pandemic to ensure students could continue learning.
Word Origin & History
1950, from on + line.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%."
— 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
"The online world was meant to be an open system but has become dominated by huge corporations."
— 2024 May 4, John Naughton, “The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding”, in The Guardian:
"To borrow an idiom from the extremely online, late Godard is a mood."
— 2019, A.O. Scott, “'The Image Book' Review: Godard Looks at Violence, and Movies”, in The New York Times:
"“If we were doing a family vlog inside the house, I would not want my feet in the video. At all.” He would wear socks. He is very online. He sees the conversations."
— 2025 April 27, Lisa Miller, Maggie Shannon, “When a Child’s Life Becomes the Family Business”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"Well, things are getting pretty serious right now. I mean, we chat online for, like, two hours every day so I guess you could say things are gettin' pretty serious."
— 2004, Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess, Napoleon Dynamite (motion picture), spoken by Kip (Aaron Ruell):
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Since the university closed all physical classrooms, students had to take the course ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The university moved all its courses ____ during the pandemic to ensure students could continue learning.