Wiktionary
alt. (context UK NZ English) A cord or wire for hanging washing to dry; a device for the same purpose comprising several such cords or wires and a framework supporting them. n. (context UK NZ English) A cord or wire for hanging washing to dry; a device for the same purpose comprising several such cords or wires and a framework supporting them.
Wikipedia
A clothes line or washing line is any type of rope, cord, or twine that has been stretched between two points (e.g. two sticks), outside or indoors, above the level of the ground. Clothing that has recently been washed is hung along the line to dry, using clothes pegs or clothespins. Washing lines are attached either from a post or a wall, and are frequently located in back gardens, or on balconies. Longer washing lines often have props holding up sections in the middle due to the weight of the usually wet clothing.
More elaborate rotary washing lines save space and are typically retractable and square or triangular in shape, with multiple lines being used (such as the Hills Hoist from Australia). Some can be folded up when not in use (although there is a very minor hazard of getting fingers caught, so there is usually a safety button).
In Scotland, many tenement buildings have a drying green which is a communal area predominantly used for clothes lines – it may also be used as a recreational space, as well as a clothes horse connected to a pulley system inside which can be used in the frequently cold winter weather. In Scotland, a Hills Hoist is referred to as a Whirligig.
Usage examples of "clothes line".
Each back yard had its mass produced ash can, bird house complete with weather vane, and revolving clothes line.
Billy had played by producing a cord from his pocket, and having tied the tails of Margaret's white kittens together, he had climbed on a box and hung them across the clothes line.
Five minutes later Madame Berthe was trussed up hand and foot with the clothes line from beneath the sink, and her mouth was covered with a large square of sticking plaster.
A clothes line strung along the side bore pink cotton dresses and several pairs of overalls.